Man Utd star Keane in court on assault charge

Roy Keane arrives at the Trafford courthouse in Manchester. Manchester United and Ireland football star Keane grabbed a teenage boy round the neck, swore at him and swung a punch towards his face before stopping his fist at the last minute, the court heard.

Manchester United and Ireland football star Roy Keane grabbed a teenage boy round the neck, swore at him and swung a punch towards his face before stopping his fist at the last minute, a British court heard.

The midfielder, who denies a charge of assault and a public order offence, clashed with the 16-year-old student near his home in Manchester, northwest England, last year, Trafford Magistrates' Court was told.

Keane, 33, was walking his dogs when the boy rode past on a moped with a friend and beeped his horn to acknowledge the star, the court was told.

As the moped passed, Keane -- who was then injured -- swung out with his walking stick, prompting the 16-year-old, who was not named in court, to turn around and make a crude hand gesture at the footballer.

A few weeks later in September 2004, the pair were visiting a friend near Keane's home when they were approached by the sportsman, the boy said in a videotaped interview to police shown to the court in place of direct testimony.

The teenager told police he noticed Keane walking towards him.

"I felt a bit like, 'God, what's going to happen now'," the boy said.

"Then he (Keane) said: 'Did you call me a w****r? Why did you do that?",' to which the teenager replied that it was because Keane had nearly hit them with his stick.

"He walked up to me and I'm not sure what he said next; he was being a bit aggressive," the boy said.

"The next thing he did was swing at my face with his right fist. He said, 'That's nearly hitting you'. I flinched backwards."

The boy said he promised to call police, after which Keane threatened him and walked away, at which point the teenager muttered an insult to his friend about the footballer.

Apparently hearing it, Keane marched back and grabbed the 16-year-old around the neck, breaking a silver chain.

"His forehead was touching mine. I was quite scared. When he was speaking he was spitting as well," the boy said in the interview.

The case was expected to last two days.