A court was told yesterday that Keane had grabbed a frightened teenager around the neck while shouting in his face after the youngster insulted him on September 4th last year.
From the Press Association:
'The Irish international also swung a punch at the 16-year-old, his fist stopping just before the youth's face. The two had clashed after the young student had been riding his moped with a friend near Keane's £1.4million mansion in Hale, Greater Manchester. Keane had been walking his dogs near his home when the boy sounded his horn to acknowledge the star, Trafford Magistrates' Court heard.
As the teenager and his friend passed Keane swung out with his walking stick. The teenager drove past and turned round to make an obscene gesture with his hand towards the footballer.
A few weeks later the youngster was on his moped again with a friend visiting a house across the road from Keane's home, the court heard. Keane was in his garden but came over to approach the pair. The court was shown a video recording of an interview the youngster gave to police after the second incident. The boy told police he was sat on his bike when he noticed Keane walking towards him.
"I felt a bit like, 'God, what's going to happen now', the boy told officers. "Then he said, 'Did you call me a w****r? Why did you do that?'"
The teenager said he replied: "Because you nearly hit me; you swung for me with your walking stick. He walked up to me and I'm not sure what he said next; he was being a bit aggressive. The next thing he did was swing at my face with his right fist. He said, 'That's nearly hitting you'. I flinched backwards."'
Keane, who denies all the charges, is due to give evidence in his defence at court today.