A thug who attacked pundit Roy Keane has been booted out of football for three years.
Dad-of-two Scott Law was handed a football banning order after he was convicted of headbutting the ex-Manchester United skipper. Law’s legal team had said that “football is his life and so in many ways this will be the biggest punishment for him”.
But District Judge Angus Hamilton made him the subject of strict restrictions, ultimately blocking his access to UK football grounds. He also handed him a 80-hour community order and ordered him to pay £650 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
The court heard Keane had provided a victim impact statement in which he said: “I stepped back from football for a short time to reflect on what had happened.”
Law’s legal team had branded Micah Richards a “stooge” who was there to support Keane’s account of the attack. But Mr Hamilton said he had acted with “honesty”.
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He told the court: “Mr Richards didn’t have any allegiance to Mr Keane. They had never played football together and had only worked together for four years.”
Richards told the court Law had “arched” his head before headbutting Keane during the clash last year, before the ex-Man City defender “took hold of Mr Law and remonstrated with him”.
Law claimed he was “terrified” of Keane but blasted his account - saying his actions were not those of someone who feared for his safety.
Scott Law arriving at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court ahead of hearing his verdict (TIM ANDERSON)And he said: “The incidents that have created [Keane’s] reputation as the ‘hard man of football’ were those that happened years if not decades ago.”
Law claimed that Keane had “struck him in the abdomen” as he was restrained by Richards, but Mr Hamilton said “no other person saw this happen and there’s no evidence of this happening”.
He added: “This assault didn’t occur… I conclude that he is being untruthful and he didn’t behave in the manner alleged.”
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