A Birmingham City striker who injured two women when he drunkenly crashed his Mercedes just two hours after a match has been fined more than £16,000.

Marvin Ducksch was told he was ‘lucky to be alive’ after the serious collision with two cars.

The 32-year-old came on as a late substitute in the club’s 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town at Portman Road on April 6. 

Just hours after that game, Ducksch got behind the wheel of his Mercedes while over the limit.

The German international would later try to change the music in his car, causing him to clip two vehicles coming in the opposite direction.

Police detained the star at the scene of the crash, on the A3400 on Stratford Road near Henley-in-Arden, in Warwickshire, close to the club’s training ground.

At Warwickshire Magistrates Court on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to the single charge of driving with excess alcohol. 

He was fined £16,155 and disqualified from driving for 14 months.

Birmingham City striker Marvin Ducksch arriving at Warwickshire Magistrates’ Court to answer a charge of drink-driving

Wearing a green shirt and black trousers, Ducksch was pictured arriving to court for Wednesday’s hearing sipping on a bottle of mineral water.

The forward, who scored 10 goals in his first season with the club, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Prosecutor Lina Akther told the court that Ducksch did have alcohol before he drove but ‘thought he would be under the limit’.

She said he had 53 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35mg.

Prosecutor Akther said: ‘The defendant stated that he was driving down the road and went to change his music and crashed, but he wasn’t sure how.

‘A road side breathalyser was carried out where he blew 65 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath. 

‘In custody, the defendant was instructed to blow an intoxilyzer, where he blew 53 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

‘The defendant was interviewed over the offence and offered a prepared statement.

‘The defendant stated to the officers he was driving home and he admits he did have alcohol before he drove. 

‘He said he moved his car slightly over to avoid a tree branch on the A3400.

‘He went to change his music and clipped an oncoming car and then another car following behind.

‘He thought he would be under the limit. The defendant was apologetic in his prepared statement.’

Julia Morgan, mitigating, told the court that Birmingham City had already imposed its own punishments on the player.

He played just 27 minutes in the final five games of the season following the crash, having previously featured regularly in the first team.

Mrs Morgan said: ‘Prior to this incident he was a young man of impeccable character, no previous convictions. Not someone who has troubled the police at all.

‘It’s abundantly clear that damage was caused to those vehicles and a lady was injured. But I will say that Mr Ducksch was fully insured.

‘He has complied fully with the insurance company in providing all of the details he is required to do.

‘Mr Ducksch waited at the scene for the police. He checked immediately on the welfare of the occupants of the other vehicles.

‘When the police arrived, he contacted a friend to make sure that he could understand what the police were saying to him, as his first language is German.

‘Not only is he going to be subject to the sentence you impose today, he has also been penalised by Birmingham City for his actions on that night.

‘He has been penalised financially, and further, not being permitted to play in a number of matches following this incident.

‘That illustrates how serious incidents of this nature are taken. They have provided references.

‘In essence, they talk about a man of impeccable character, both in his conduct towards his team, managers and the club itself.

‘They talk about his respect for everybody. I have found him to be the most polite young man, very unfortunate to find himself in this position.’

Marvin Ducksch crashed his car just hours after featuring for Birmingham City in a 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town

Chair Magistrate John Kiely fined Ducksch £16,155 for the crash, with an additional victim surcharge of £2,000, £1,000 paid to each victim, and an £85 bill for costs.

Magistrate Kiely said: ‘You can consider yourself lucky, first of all that you weren’t killed and secondly that the other drivers weren’t killed.

‘In which case you would be standing here being sent to the crown court for death for dangerous driving. That’s how serious this matter is.’

Ducksch avoided jail as the level of alcohol in his breath was in the lowest category of offences, which normally equates to a fine as punishment.

The fine is around 150 per cent of a defendant’s weekly income, which for the footballer was around £16,000.  

Magistrates’ also considered that Ducksch pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. 

The sportsman opted to pay the £20,240 lump sum in monthly £2,000 deposits.

Birmingham City issued a statement at the time of the crash, with Ducksch taking blame for the three-car smash.

It said: ‘The club can confirm that Marvin Ducksch has been charged in relation to an offence of driving with excess alcohol.

‘Marvin wishes to apologise to his teammates, staff and supporters of the club and accepts full responsibility for his actions.

‘The matter has been dealt with internally and no further comment will be made at this time.’

Ducksch joined Birmingham City in a £2 million deal in August 2025 with owner and American football star Tom Brady pushing for the deal.