Pienaar to face driving charge after warrant issued

LONDON (AFP) - South Africa midfielder Steven Pienaar will appear in court over speeding allegations after a warrant was issued for his arrest when he missed the original hearing.

Pienaar, currently on loan at Everton from Premier League rivals Tottenham, failed to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Monday, a court spokesman confirmed.

The 30-year-old was due to face charges of failing to disclose who was driving his Aston Martin DBS after it was caught speeding twice in Chigwell, east of London, on two separate days in October last year.

The allegations were proven in his absence and a judge ordered Pienaar to be bailed to a later date for sentencing.

Pienaar's lawyer later insisted his client was not aware there were proceedings against him.

"Steven has moved swiftly to resolve this misunderstanding," Gwynn Lewis said.

"He responded immediately to the warrant and made a pre-arranged visit to a police station in Cheshire today and was subsequently given unconditional bail to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court next month.

"Mr Pienaar was totally unaware of the court date due to moving to Merseyside in February as the correspondence from the court had been sent to his old address in Essex."