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Bendtner banned from driving

Copenhagen - Danish footballer Nicklas Bendtner was banned from driving for three months on Tuesday after being caught drink-driving at the weekend.

Bendtner, 25, was also fined €100 000 following his arrest in central Copenhagen early on Sunday morning for driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

He was later found to be more than three times over the legal alcohol limit, with a blood-alcohol level of 1.75 grams per litre, while the legal limit in Denmark is 0.5 grams.

"This is the worst day of my life," Bendtner said after Tuesday's court hearing. "But I'll do everything I can to bounce back as strongly as I can."

The driving ban came hot on the heels of the Danish Football Federation (DBU) decision to suspend him from the national team for six months.

"The DBU have demanded that Nicklas Bendtner take six months off to think over his international future," read a federation statement.

"The DBU respect the rights of all players to have a private life, but we also have certain rules that need to be met by international players in their public behaviour," continued the statement.

Bendtner, currently on loan at Juventus from Arsenal, has flirted with controversy throughout his career and was also in hot water at Euro 2012 when he was fined heavily by UEFA after revealing a bookmakers name on his underpants after scoring a goal.

He is currently sidelined with a thigh injury and has not played since December 17.

"Dear friends I was booked for a mild case of drink driving last night - it was a quite nite (sic) but I am very very sorry to all my friends and fans,"
Bendtner tweeted after the arrest.

"It is not ok to drink and drive. I take full responsibility," added Bendtner, who said he was "doing my absolute best to come back as soon as possible."

The international ban will rule him out of several crucial 2014 World Cup qualifiers including one later this month away to Czech Republic.

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