An Arsenal fan has been found guilty of assaulting Roy Keane following the club’s victory over Manchester United last September.
Scott Law pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault after an incident where he and Keane clashed on September 3 last year.
But the 43-year-old fan, who is a season-ticket holder at Arsenal, was found guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning.
The fracas began when Keane and fellow Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards were making their way to complete their television duties after Arsenal had beaten United 3-1 at the Emirates.
Kevin Christie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This gratuitous and senseless act of violence was completely unacceptable.
“When anyone attends a football match, either to work or to support a team, they should be able to feel safe and secure in that environment.”
Footage on social media went viral last week, showing a glimpse of the melee that broke out at the Emirates Stadium.
A confrontation between Keane and Law saw Richards jump in the middle to split up the two.
Keane said he was ‘in shock’ after the clash while Law insisted the United legend told him to ‘meet him outside’ after ‘banter turned more aggressive’.
Law’s defence team countered that Keane had elbowed him in the face, using the CCTV footage that was shown in court.
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Former Manchester City star Richards said he was ‘in disbelief’ over the incident and denied accusations from Law’s defence barrister that he only claimed there was a headbutt because he was ‘Roy’s stooge’.
Richards said: “I felt sorry for Roy. Just because of the fact you’ve come to work, to do your job and you’ve been assaulted.
“I could see he was physically shaken up. You do what any friend would do, or any colleague, step in and try to help the situation.
“It was a surreal moment. We weren’t going to a UFC match. We were at work.”
Law, who cried during questioning, denied common assault and insisted Keane was ‘angry’ throughout the entire match between Arsenal and United, which saw the Gunners score two late goals.
Law, who was sitting beneath the Sky Sports studio at the Emirates, claimed Keane ‘picked him out and started telling me to see him outside’ before encountering the former Republic of Ireland international inside the stadium as he went to the toilet, who ‘collided into him’.
“I put my head down in a defensive manner to protect my face,” he said.