Former Premier League star convicted of dodging £7 Tube fare

Former Premier League footballer Sebastien Bassong has been convicted of fare evasion after being caught using a train driver’s pass to travel illegally on the Tube to avoid a £7 fare.

The 40-year-old Frenchman, who spent several seasons in the top flight with Tottenham, Newcastle, and Norwich, was intercepted by a Transport for London (TfL) officer after being seen tailgating a friend through the ticket barriers at St Paul’s Station on 2 May.

Documents submitted to the court show that the former defender, who moved to Spurs in an £8 million deal in 2009, was in possession of an Oyster card belonging to his friend’s former girlfriend, which had been issued to her as a driver on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

The TfL officer was told that Bassong had been using the pass because he was "experiencing financial and personal hardship due to a divorce and unemployment".

Bassong was convicted behind closed doors of travelling on the rail network without a valid ticket during a Single Justice Procedure hearing at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on 30 October. He did not enter a plea to the charge, having failed to respond to a notice of prosecution delivered to his address in north London.

Magistrate Graham Burbage imposed a £220 fine, ordered him to repay the £7 fare for his journey from Arnos Grove to St Paul’s, and required him to pay £250 in prosecution costs alongside an £88 victim surcharge.

In a witness statement provided to the court, TfL revenue control officer Adebukola Anifowose said she observed Bassong at 1.08pm "pretend to tap an Oystercard enclosed in a white wallet before tailgating through the wide-aisle gate behind another male".

She stated that when challenged, Bassong presented a TfL staff nominee pass, which grants free travel across London's transport network.

"System checks later confirmed that the pass did not belong to him and had last been used in October 2025," she said.

"The accompanying male was spoken to – this individual later informed me that he was assisting Mr Bassong, who was experiencing financial and personal hardship due to a divorce and unemployment, by providing him with the nominee pass.

"It was subsequently established that the pass was registered to an ex-girlfriend of this male, who reportedly claimed to be a DLR driver."

Bassong, who currently runs a business in motivational coaching, has been given 28 days to pay the full court bill of £565.