New footage emerges of Roy Keane ‘elbowing’ a fan after being ‘headbutted’ and Micah Richards seen restraining the fan.
The former Man Utd player turned pundit has been accused of throwing an elbow at an Arsenal supporter’s nose with the Manchester United legend saying he was assaulted.
43 year old Scott Law has gone on trial for allegedly assaulting Roy Keane in the corridors of the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal v Man Utd came to an end in September 2023.
Video footage below via The Standard and The Sun…
Footage of Roy Keane 'headbutt' aftermath with Manchester United legend accused of throwing an elbow https://t.co/iLZuAYTTTk
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) May 29, 2024
It has been reported that the fan made his way over to approach Keane following a VAR decision that went in the favour of Arsenal, and supposedly pushed Keano backwards through a set of doors with a headbutt.
However, Law says he was actually rushing to the restroom and only used his head in self-defence when Keane approached him, repeatedly insulting him as a “fatty”.
He says that Keane’s intimidating reputation as a violent “hard man” made him fear an attack from the Sky Sports pundit in that moment.
The chaotic aftermath of the alleged headbutt is seen on camera, with Law seen walking away with Keane and Micah Richards following closely behind.
Law’s legal team have enhanced the CCTV footage and presented a slow motion clip to the trial, and argue that it showed Keane throwing an “upper cut elbow” at Law’s nose.
Defence barrister Charles Sherrard KC suggested “the red mist descended” for Keane when the VAR decision went against Man Utd, and he was taunted by rival Arsenal fans.
“You chose to confront him”, said Mr Sherrard. “When you saw him, you said ‘say it to my face you fat c***’.”
Keane responded: “I said that when I was at work? Disagree.”
Mr Sherrard suggests that Keane is then seen on camera using “gratuitous violence” by throwing his elbow and “smashing his nose”.
Keane adds the clip shows him trying to stop Law from leaving the scene, but Mr Sherrard asked: “How are you stopping someone getting away with an elbow to the face?”
Keane replied: “I’ve got bags in my hands, I was trying to grab him, to stop him from getting out.
“I must have said nine or ten times, someone call the police. I’m trying to stop him from leaving.”
Micah Richards is seen quickly grabbing hold of Law, before eventually letting him go. Court hears Richards saying in the clip: “Are you crazy? Are you f***ing mad? Say sorry.”
Later, he reportedly said: “Someone needs to arrest him, he’s just assaulted Roy Keane, don’t let him go.”
Richards will appear and give evidence in court on Friday.
The alleged assault wasn’t caught on camera, with Law is set to argue that he moved his head forward in a “pre-emptive strike” when Roy Keane coming towards him.
Keane has also been questioned about certain incidents from his days as a footballer, including his record 13 red cards, the stamp on Gareth Southgate, and a horror tackle on Manchester City midfielder Alfie-Inge Haaland back in 2001.
“I was sent off a few times, unfortunately”, Keane told the court. “I also had bad referees.”
Keane said he never intended to injure a player, and said that the quoted from his first autobiography where it suggests the incident involving Haaland was a “revenge tackle”, hadn’t actually been written or approved by him.
He said: “The autobiography was ghost-written – I didn’t say them words.”
The in his second autobiography, he writes that he “did want to nail” Haaland.
On that, he said to court: “There is a difference between hurting someone and injuring them – 100 per cent.
“Players know when you go into tackles, when you are physical and hit someone, there’s a good chance you are going to get hurt. Injured is different.”
Keane said “every game is a battle”, then adds: “That was the game I was in – people hurt me, and I have to hurt people.
“When you are playing in the middle of the park, you are going to get hurt.”
He denies “glorying” in his tough reputation, and insists he had never referred to himself as a “hard man”.
“If you could get a quote that I’m a hard man, I will listen to it”, he told Mr Sherrard.
Law has been alleged to have made an “obscene gesture” aimed at those in the Sky Studio, where Keane and Richards had been after Arsenal won the game following Garnacho’s 87th minute goal ruled out for offside by VAR. Law was allegedly intent on confronting Keane.
“I couldn’t believe it”, said Keane. “I just felt the contact, and I’ve fallen back through some doors.”
He added: “I didn’t expect that to happen, not when I was in the workplace.”
Law, who lives in Waltham Abbey in Essex, had denied assault as the trial continues.
Keane said after the alleged headbutt to the upper area of his chest – that left him with a bruise – he said ‘call the police…eight, nine, or ten times’ as fellow Sky pundit Micah Richards tried to stop Scott Law running off
Richards is expected to enter the witness box on Fri
— Tom Burrows (@TBurrows16) May 29, 2024
Defence suggested the ‘red mist’ had come over Keane + claimed he repeatedly used the word ‘fatty’ to get Law to repeat what he’d said to him
Keane disagree with this
Incident happened after #MUFC had a goal disallowed for VAR towards the end of the match
— Tom Burrows (@TBurrows16) May 29, 2024
Piece from court today where Roy Keane appeared in the witness box for almost two hours and said he “was absolutely not expecting it” after he was allegedly assaulted by an #AFC fan in the Emirates
Scott Law, 43, denies a charge of common assaulthttps://t.co/mkzJY27JFZ
— Tom Burrows (@TBurrows16) May 29, 2024
This is how Twitter users reacted as footage emerges of Roy Keane ‘elbowing’ the fan after being ‘headbutted’ and Micah Richards seen restraining…
@jbttcck: @FootballCliches very close to being “for my sins” here
@gazmun97: Jesus this is wild 😂
@mattblake94: Bro got headbutted and ppl think he a) should expect it coz he was hard on the pitch and b) let it slide for…. reasons….
Like yous wouldn’t be calling the cops if you got physically assaulted.
@boltyboy: From the man whose autobiography contained the classic lines (quite a few times) “drinks were had, words were said, blows were exchanged”
@Gavan_Sanghera: First it was was Vieira and now it’s a fan. Keano always getting battered when he comes to The Arsenal
@DembaBaSyrup: Not quite as tough as he makes out
@Chiefredcoat: ” an association football commentator ma Lord”
@Goonintoon: Hardman Keane grassing up someone willing to take him on pathetic
@KafkaDarren: Hard man act completely blown now.
@8ubba5: Hardman turned grass 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@MichaelBuckle17: Roy Keane gets battered everywhere he goes 🕺
@TBM_IX: Soft as shite
@charliebaker_94: Can’t stop the hard man act now your giving evidence in court supposed hard man
@NUFCJ4ke: Proper hard man Roy 👊👊
@afcsenseii: Not saying anything is right or wrong here but this is ironic from Roy Keane out of all people 😂😂
@sportingminute: Couldn’t be my clubs hard man.
@Mathew200421: So Roy Keane got assaulted and they’ve tried to turn Keane into the perpetrator. Justice system 👍🏻
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