An Arsenal fan accused of headbutting Roy Keane has denied assault and accused the ex-Manchester United captain of “running into the top of my head”.
Scott Law, a 43-year-old civil engineer, is on trial for allegedly attacking Keane during the climax of Arsenal’s 3-1 Premier League victory over Manchester United last September at the Emirates Stadium.
Keane says he was struck without warning in the corridor of the stadium, while his Sky Sports colleague Micah Richards says he was left “in disbelief” after witnessing a headbutt.
But Law, a father-of-two from Waltham Abbey in Essex, told Highbury Corner magistrates court that he put his head down in a bid to avoid being attacked by Keane, who he knew to be a notorious “hard man” of football with a short temper during his playing days.
“I was convinced I was going to be attacked and I put my head down”, said Law, as he denied ever aiming a headbutt at Keane.
“It was the aggressive nature of his approach to me, and also the words he said to me. It wasn’t friendly.”
Asked how Keane ended up with a bruise on his upper chest, Law replied: “I think as I put my head down he just collided with me, comes into me. At that point we both stumbled back.”
Cross-examining, prosecutor Simon Jones asked Law: “Are you seriously saying ‘Roy Keane ran into the top of my head’?”
Law replied: “Yes sir”, while insisting he has faced “guilt by media” when it was reported that the former Manchester United and Celtic player had been attacked.
In his prepared statement, Law referred to lowering his head in a “pre-emptive strike”, but in court he said he would not have used those words and blamed it on a sleepless night before handing himself in to police.
Law said he was “absolutely petrified” when he came across Keane in the corridor, and he claims he was assaulted himself in the chaotic aftermath.
The incident unfolded after Garnacho had scored in the 87th minute of the match to make it 2-1 to United, but the goal was then dramatically ruled out by VAR in an offside call.
Arsenal fans, including Law, are seen to turn to the Sky Sports studio in taunting triumph after the VAR call, before Law is seen on CCTV footage running from his seat towards the area of the studio.
He says, however, that he was making a dash for the toilet at the time, and had no intention of seeking Keane out.
Earlier, Micah Richards told the court he was “in disbelief” after seeing the headbutt and he denied lying in court as the ex-Manchester United captain’s “stooge”.
The former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender said he and Keane were heading pitchside for the end of game punditry when he saw the alleged assault.
“I saw a gentleman running towards Roy”, he said.
“We have it all the time, banter, we get abuse as pundits, rightly or wrongly, but a lot of it in fun, the banter.
“Roy is one of the most high profile pundits we have. I thought they were going to have a little bit of banter.”
Richards said the incident is now “a little bit of a blur”, but he told the court: “I heard shouting and then as he came closer to Roy, I have seen him arch his head back and tried to headbutt him.
“After that, I was in shock, for one, and so was Roy.
“I was in disbelief at what was going on. Did that just really happen?”
Charles Sherrard KC, defending Law, accused Richards of lying about seeing the actual headbutt, calling him Keane’s “puppet”.
“You never saw a headbutt at all”, the barrister suggested. “You have claimed to have seen that as Roy’s mate?”
When Richards replied “strongly disagree”, Mr Sherrard added: “I suggest you have become in this case Roy Keane’s stooge.
“I’m suggesting you didn’t see it.”
Richards smiled, and then replied: “That’s just a lie then, isn’t it.”
Law says Keane had been repeatedly calling him “fat” during the match, and claims the Sky pundit gestured at one point for him to “come outside”.
“Mr Keane was puffing his cheeks out and pointing”, he said, before mimicking Keane’s alleged gesture of a large stomach.
“He was right up against the glass, banging on the window.”
He claims Keane visibly celebrated the first Manchester United goal in the first half, only for Arsenal fans to taunt him back when their team quickly equalised.
Law, who says he has been an Arsenal fan “since birth”, said he gave the “wanker sign” to Keane after Garnacho’s goal was disallowed, and admitted that was “wrong”.
During the course of his evidence, he also denied having any opinions about the characters and personalities of footballers and ex-players.
“I have a view on their footballing ability, but don’t take a view on their personalities”, he said.
Law says he saw Keane coming down the corridor as he was heading to the toilet, and claims the ex-Ireland international then said: “Say it to my face you fat c***”.
“He was angry, and his face was red”, he said.
“I was scared, I was terrified, because obviously Roy Keane is renowned as the hard man of football. It is still perpetuated in the media and on Sky.”
Law said he never considered “taking on” Keane, and when asked what would have happened if he had, he replied: “I dread to think.”
“I froze, I just stopped in my tracks at that point. Then I was convinced I was going to be attacked, and I put my head down.”
After the initial incident, Law was grabbed by Richards and pinned against a wall, while Keane is accused of using “gratuitous violence” and throwing an elbow into Law’s nose.
Richards said he heard a commotion before witnessing the headbutt, and described the aftermath as “just chaos”.
He said Keane was “cool” and “calm” before the alleged assault.
“He is always calm”, he said. “I know he has got this persona of being a hard man. My relationship with Roy, we get on so well as he is such a great guy.”
He said Keane was “shaken up, massively” after the headbutt, and he told the court: “I felt sorry for Roy, just because of the fact he had come to work to your job and he had been assaulted.
“I could see he was physically shaken up.
“You do whatever any friend, or colleague, would do and step in held the situation.
“I grappled with the gentleman for a while. I believe I was saying to him what have you done that for.”
Richards told the court he and Keane missed the strike by Garnacho as they were already heading pitchside, and they ran back into the studio after hearing the Manchester United fans cheering.
Richards, who described himself as a supporter of the “mighty Arsenal”, said they watched the VAR decision before again heading out towards pitchside.
Under tough questioning from the defence barrister, Richards was accused of evading questions and Mr Sherrard at one point suggested Law’s “reputation is on the line”.
Richards shot back: “His reputation was on the line when someone was going to work and someone has been assaulted.
“If you want to go into the technical details, I saw what I saw. You can dress it up however you want to.”
He went on: “Have you been headbutted? It was a surreal moment, I wasn’tgoing to a UFC match. I was at work.”
On Wednesday, Keane insisted he was simply trying to grab hold of his attacker on the footage of the aftermath.
Richards said it did not look like a deliberate elbow, but conceded that Keane appeared “upset”.
“You wouldn’t get sent off for that”, he said. “It’s standing your ground.
“Why would Roy Keane react like that if that (the headbutt) had not happened to him”, he asked.
“You have called me a liar on the stand, saying I have not seen the headbutt, which is false.
“This makes zero sense. I understand the way Roy has gone, how he is obviously upset. But it doesn’t look like an elbow, it’s protecting himself.”
In the aftermath, Richards is seen grabbing Law and pinning him against a wall, and is said to have called out: “Are you crazy? You’ve just headbutted Roy Keane.”
He also told the court he heard Law repeatedly saying “I’m sorry”.
Law told the court he paid around £5,000 for his season ticket and said he had been to nearly every Arsenal home game since the Emirates opened in 2007.
“It’s my prized possession”, he said, of the season ticket, adding that football is “the main part of my social circle.”
Law also described himself as “happy-go-lucky, just a normal man”.
Of the aftermath, he accused Keane of inflicting injuries to his abdomen and nose, and suggested Richards had left bruising on his arm while pinning him to the wall.
He said he left the ground and was unable to go into his home until his children had been put to bed, to avoid scaring them with his facial injuries.
“It was the worst night of my life”, he said, struggling to control his emotions.
“I lay next to my little boy’s bed, because I didn’t know when I was going to see him again.”
Law handed himself in to police the following day.
His team have presented an enhanced version of the CCTV of the aftermath, alleging that Keane was the aggressor and elbowed Law in the face.
Keane insisted that he was only trying to grab hold of him, and wantedthe police to be called. Law denies assault. The trial continues.
