The footballer Roy Keane has been charged with assault and criminal damage after a row with a teenager earlier this month. He will appear in court tomorrow in Manchester. By Lynne O'Donnell in London, and Conor Lally.
The charges were laid yesterday against the Republic of Ireland international and Manchester United captain, said a spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police.
They followed lengthy investigations after a complaint made by a 16-year-old boy on September 4th. Keane (33) will appear before Trafford Magistrates Court, she said.
The charges arise from an incident that allegedly took place while Keane was walking one of his dogs near his home in the wealthy Hale Barnes area of Cheshire.
As he walked the Labrador on the Merrydale golf course at around 5.30 p.m., Keane allegedly became involved in a row with the youth, which developed into a scuffle and ended in blows.
According to reports, the two had earlier clashed when the youth blew the horn of his motorcycle at Keane. The assault allegation was filed after Keane allegedly ripped a chain from around the youth's neck.
Neither Manchester United Football Club nor Keane have commented on the incident or on the charges.
A spokesman for the Football Association of Ireland last night said it had no comment to make on the charges facing Keane. He refused to say whether Keane would be omitted from the Irish squad until the charges were disposed of. Ireland's next game is a World Cup qualifier against France in Paris next month.
The English Football Association has adopted a policy of not selecting players for international duty if they are under police investigation.
Keane, a father of four, is no stranger to controversy, nor to allegations of violent behaviour.
In 2000, when captain of the Republic of Ireland, he left the World Cup training camp in Saipan after criticising the training conditions and the team manager, Mick McCarthy. He returned to international soccer earlier this year.
In 2004 he published an explosive book, Keane: The Autobiography, that detailed an assault during play on the Manchester City midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland a year earlier, which earned him an immediate red card and a three-match ban.The book's account of the revenge attack, and the bitter feud that led up to it, earned him another five-match ban and a fine of £150,000 levied by the English FA for bringing the game into disrepute.