Standing in the dock and in disgrace, Wayne Rooney showed no emotion as the district judge rejected a request to spare him the ignominy of community service.
A heavy fine, the former England captain's lawyer suggested, would be preferable and more fitting for someone who already does a 'great deal more than most people' in the community with his charity work.
But as a judge of considerable experience in drink-driving cases, John Temperley was unmoved.
A multi-millionaire footballer was not about to buy himself an easier life in Court Two of Stockport Magistrates' Court.