Raheem Sterling to face charges after M3 crash

Raheem Sterling will appear in court next month to face charges of dangerous driving and possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation after his car struck motorway barriers on the M3 southbound near the Minley Interchange in Hampshire on the morning of Thursday, 28 May, 2026.

Sterling, 31, most recently played for Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie and made eight appearances for the club earlier this year after joining on a short-term contract in February following his departure from Chelsea by mutual consent; he has been without a club since leaving Feyenoord at the end of last season. Chelsea paid £47.5m to sign Sterling from Manchester City in 2022, where he won four Premier League titles, five League Cups and one FA Cup in seven years. In 2024 he joined Arsenal on loan and, on returning to Chelsea in 2025, was exiled from the first-team squad and made to train separately. Sterling earned 82 England caps between 2012 and 2022 and appeared at three World Cups and two European Championships.

A Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesman provided details of the case, saying: "A driver will appear in court next month to face charges following a collision on the M3. "Raheem Sterling, 31, from Berkshire, has been charged for the following offences: dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation, failing to provide a specimen. "The charges come following a single vehicle collision, involving a Lamborghini, on the M3 southbound, close to the Minley Interchange [Hampshire], on 28 May, 2026. "No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported. Mr Sterling is due to appear at Basingstoke magistrates court on 15 September." The force had suspected Sterling of "driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs," but that allegation is not included in the charges.

The vehicle involved was a Lamborghini that hit barriers on the M3; police described the incident as a single-vehicle collision and said no other cars were involved and no injuries were reported. Sterling was arrested at the scene and subsequently released on bail pending further enquiries.

In May a source close to Sterling told BBC Sport there was "no proof" of drugs in his system and added the player had faced "an extremely tough couple of years" and had been made to "feel worthless" and "forgotten about".

Mr Sterling is due to appear at Basingstoke magistrates court on 15 September.