A warrant has been issued by a court in Essex for the arrest of Tottenham midfielder Steven Pienaar, who is currently on loan at Everton.

The warrant was issued the day after he scored the equaliser for Everton in their 4-4 draw against Manchester United.

Pienaar, 30, from Epping has failed to notify the authorities of the identity of the driver of his Aston Martin DBS after it was caught speeding twice in the same road during an 11-day period.

After failing to attend Chelmsford Magistrates Court today where the allegations relating to his failure to reveal the identity of the driver were proved in his absence, the arrest warrant was issued with provisions for him to then receive bail to appear on a date to be fixed to be sentenced.

Pienaar, of Theydon Road, Epping, faces a driving ban as each offence carries a minimum six penalty points on his driving licence which would mean a disqualification under the totting up sytem.

Although the prosecution did not proceed against him on allegations of speeding, his car was respectively said to have been doing 43 and 38mph in a 30 mph limit at Lambourne Road, Chigwell, on October 10 and 21, last year.

As the defendant's name was called, Chair of the bench, Ian Fuller asked: "Is that the footballer?" and when told there was a difficulty obtaining driving record because they didn't have his date of birth, he told the prosecution to "Google it."

Denise Holland, prosecuting, said Pienaar was twice sent notification of prosecution and asked to provide the identity of the driver and on both occasions the completed from was not returned.