Micah Richards told a court he was ‘in disbelief’ after witnessing an Arsenal fan headbutt former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, before he ‘did what any friend would do’.
Keane, 52, claims he was headbutted by the fan in a violent outburst at a Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on September 3.
Former Manchester City star Richards stepped in to break apart the two men, as shown in CCTV footage that was played to the court earlier this week.
The ex-Ireland international, who was working as a pundit for Sky Sports, was celebrating Manchester United’s goal when he was attacked, the court heard .
The Arsenal fan, Scott Law, 43, pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault against Keane.
Law claims he was ambushed by Keane, who he claims called him a ‘fat c**t’ after aggressively gesturing for him to ‘meet him outside’ during the match.
CCTV also showed Keane allegedly elbowing Law in the face, which Law’s defence described as ‘gratuitous violence’.
Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards leaves Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court in North London
Pictured: Scott Law, 43, arrives at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court for what is expected to be the final day in court
Pictured arriving to court today: Law, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, has pleaded not guilty to assault by beating over the incident at a Premier League match at Emirates Stadium last September
Richards this morning told Highbury Corner Magistrates Court that he and Keane were heading down to the pitch when the alleged assault took place.
He said: ‘I saw a gentleman running towards Roy
‘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 his memory of the incident was a ‘blur’ but described how he saw Law ‘arch his head back and tried to headbutt him (Keane)’.
Richards said: ‘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?’
The former football star described Keane as ‘calm’ in the run up to the alleged assault and said he was left ‘shaken up’ by the incident.
CCTV shows the moment Roy Keane (centre) is accused of throwing an elbow at Arsenal fan Scott Law (green arrow) during the incident at Emirates Stadium in London last September
The clip showed chaotic scenes towards the end of Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Manchester Utd
Keane’s colleague Micah Richards (blue) grabs hold of Law (green) then lets him go
During cross-examination, Charlie Sherrard KC accused the well-liked pundit of covering for his ‘mate’ Roy Keane, calling Mr Richards a ‘stooge’ and a ‘puppet’.
Sherrard even suggested that Richards ‘didn’t see’ the incident at all.
The ex-England international ‘strongly disagreed’ with Sherrard’s assessment, telling the court that the headbutt was a ‘surreal moment’ and that he ‘saw what I saw’.
‘You’ve basically called me a liar on the stand, that I didn’t see the headbutt, which is false from the start.
‘If somebody hadn’t been head-butted, why would they continue to be upset?’’
Richards then described how he stepped in to help separate Keane from his alleged attacker.
He added: ‘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.’
The court heard on Thursday that Keane had been gesturing towards Law to ‘meet him outside’.
Law described the move of putting his head forward as a ‘pre-emptive strike’ to defend himself against Keane who he claimed looked ‘angry’.
CCTV footage from inside the stadium, shown in court, displayed Mr Keane elbowing the defendant in the face.
Under cross-examination, the police officer in charge of the case told the court that there may have been contact from Mr Keane, but it ‘does not look like a deliberate elbow to the face’.
Former Manchester United star Roy Keane at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday
Referring to the footage, defence barrister Charles Sherrard KC accused the officer of ‘lying’ and claimed Keane used ‘gratuitous violence’ by ‘smashing his (Law’s) nose’ with his elbow.
Keane described using his elbow in an attempt to stop Law from getting away because he was holding bags in both hands.
Law’s defence alleged that ‘the red mist descended’ on Mr Keane after a VAR decision went against Manchester United towards the end of the match and he was taunted by home supporters.
Law’s barrister, Charles Sherrard KC said: ‘You chose to confront him. When you saw him, you said: ‘Say it to my face you fat c***’.’
Keane replied: ‘I said that when I was at work? Disagree.’
In a prepared statement given to police on the day following the incident, Law said: ‘Throughout the match there was what I would regard as banter between me and Mr Keane.
‘The banter turned more aggressive with Mr Keane gesturing towards me to meet him outside.’
Law said in the statement that he was an ‘avid football fan’ and had seen Mr Keane act violently before on the football pitch, adding that he was ‘scared’ at the time of the incident.
He said during a ‘natural break in the game’ he went to use the toilet and was approached by Mr Keane in a ‘very aggressive manner’, adding: ‘His face looked angry.’
Law, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, denies one charge of assault by beating
The trial continues.
