Micah Richards rejected the notion that he is Roy Keane's 'puppy' as the former Manchester City star took to the witness stand in the trial of Scott Law on Friday. Law, a 44-year-old Arsenal fan, is alleged to have headbutted Keane during the Gunners' 3-1 win over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium last September.

Richards told the Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court that he reacted to the alleged headbutt by 'doing what any friend would'. "I grappled with him," he explained. "I said what did you do that for? He was saying f***ing this, f***ing that.

"I grabbed him and moved him down the corridor. I had him, I couldn’t hold him for long enough so he run off. I was trying to restrain him until security arrived."

Richards and Keane, two former Premier League footballers, had been working together as part of Sky Sports' punditry team for the match in north London.

CCTV footage played in court showed Richards pushing Law away from Keane in the hospitality area after the alleged incident is said to have happened.

Meanwhile, Law's defence team alleged that separate CCTV footage showed Keane elbowing the defendant in the face. Detective Constanble Phil Dickinson told the court that he did not think, in his opinion, the elbow was 'deliberate', and Richards agreed.

Law's defence barrister, Charles Sherrard KC, accused Richards of being Keane's 'stooge' and 'puppy' during cross-examination. The 35-year-old refuted that by saying Sherrard was trying to 'mince his words', adding: "I know what I saw. You can dress it up however you want to."

On the alleged headbutt, Richards said: "I felt a bit sorry for Roy. I was shocked and so was Roy, we were in disbelief. I think he handled it quite well. I intervened, I felt sorry for Roy, he came to work to do his job and he was assaulted. I did what any friend would do, I stopped him and diffused the situation."

Earlier this week, Keane himself added: "There was lots of noise and shouting, as you would expect at a football match. I was just walking and, before I knew it, I was hit.

"I felt the contact and fell back through some doors. I was absolutely not expecting it. The only way I can describe it is that I was in shock. I didn't expect it to happen, not when I was in my workplace."