Keane cleared in assault trial
Manchester United captain Roy Keane was today cleared of assaulting a teenager who taunted him in the street.
District Judge Paul Richardson delivered his verdicts at Trafford Magistrates Court, Greater Manchester, after Keane repeatedly denied manhandling the youth despite the abuse.
Keane, 33, had been accused of common assault, a public order offence and criminal damage.
After leaving court, Manchester United club solicitor Maurice Watkins released a short statement on behalf of the player.
It said: “Roy has been here for two days. Throughout Roy has cooperated fully with the police inquiry.
“He has maintained his innocence throughout and he has been vindicated today and he is very relieved justice has been done.”
Keane then left court surrounded by a scrum of TV cameras and press photographers but made no further comment.
Earlier, giving evidence under oath, Keane, who is known for his fiery temper on the football field, admitted he was angry with the teenager after he called him a “wanker”.
But he denied grabbing the 16-year-old student by the neck and shouting in his face after clashing with him outside his his £1.4m (€2m) mansion in Hale, Cheshire, last September.
The footballer, who remained seated while the judge gave his ruling, gave no reaction as he was cleared of the three charges.
Mr Richardson said he had to remind himself of the high burden of proof needed to convict a suspect in court.
He said he was not satisfied the standard had been reached, adding: “Accordingly I dismiss these three charges.”
Mr Richardson said he was not convinced by the evidence given by the 16-year-old.
He added: “It was clear to me this was a young man who enjoyed the attention that the incident had given him. Given his motive was at the best very questionable, I could not rely on his evidence.”
The judge said the three charges of common assault, criminal damage and the public order offence arose out of the same incident and so all stood or fell together.
Mr Richardson said the student had been exposed as a liar during the two-day trial.
He added: “As a witness he was unsatisfactory, he was caught out as a liar, notably in relation to the chain but perhaps in several other perhaps less significant areas.”
Mr Richardson said the teenager had been warned by police not to speak to the Press before the case went to court.
But he broke the promise by speaking to reporters and then denied he had done so to the police.
“Despite clear instruction in this case that he should not speak to the Press he chose to do so and he then lied to the sergeant about what had happened.”
Keane first clashed with the teenager while walking his dogs outside his home.
The footballer told the court that as the teenager and a friend drove past on their mopeds, the teenager shouted: “Keano – you’re a wanker,” and made a hand gesture.
A few weeks later, on September 4 last year, Keane spotted the teenager outside his home a second time.
Keane went over to tell the “lippy” youngster to “watch your mouth”.
He denied any physical assault but the teenager claimed the footballer grabbed him round the neck, swung a punch stopping just short of his face and snapped his neck chain.
Giving evidence earlier today, Irish international Keane described the moment he confronted the teenager.
The teenager has admitted making a “wanker gesture” to Keane as he rode past the footballer on a moped.
Standing in the witness box with his hands clasped in front of him, Keane spoke quietly to deny any physical assault on the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The court had been told that after exchanging words with the teenager, Keane walked away with his dogs.
But once the footballer had left, the teenager said to his friend “what a wanker” – and Keane overheard the remark and returned.
Keane took the oath on the Bible and told the court he had been a professional footballer all his life and for the last 12 years had played for Manchester United.
Keane denied lashing out with a walking stick when he first saw the two youths as they initially drove past him.
And in the second incident weeks later, he again denied physically manhandling the teenager.
“I walked towards him and asked him if he gave me a hand gesture a couple of weeks earlier,” Keane said.
“I just wanted to ask him to see if it was him and ask why he had done it.
“He said along the lines of ’you tried to knock me off my bike’.
“I was quite surprised, I think I might have said ’no I didn’t’.
“I basically said I was not a wanker and I did not try to knock you off your bike and something along the lines of watch your mouth.”
Keane was asked by his barrister, Stuart Denney, if he had thrown a mock punch at the youngster’s face, his fist stopping just before contact.
Keane said that had not happened.
After walking away, he said he overheard a remark from the teenager to his friend saying “what a wanker”.
Keane said he went back to speak to the lad to “nip it in the bud” because on occasion he walked his dogs with his young family.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Peter McNaught, the footballer was asked about the media spotlight and attracting attention while relaxing, walking with his dogs.
“It’s part of the trade,” said Keane.
The player said he had spoken to the boy in a “polite and calm” way about the swearing.
In a statement to police read out in court, Keane said the lad was “quite lippy to say the least, saying ’get out of my face, get walking your dogs’, just giving lip basically.”
Mr McNaught asked why he decided to go back to the lad after overhearing the “what a wanker” remark.
“Just to have another word with him, give him another warning,” Keane replied.
“What warning?” the prosecutor asked.
“Along the lines of watch your mouth,” Keane replied.
Mr McNaught asked “what were you going to do if he did not watch his mouth?”
“I’m not sure, telephone the police, along those lines,” Keane said.
He admitted he was “just a little bit angry”.
Mr McNaught said: “This 16-year-old youth a few weeks ago calls you a wanker.
“You have gone across to speak to him and he wouldn’t answer your question. Then he called you a wanker again. Just a little bit angry?”
“Just a touch,” Keane replied.
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