A teenager told a court yesterday how Manchester United captain Roy Keane grabbed him by the neck while shouting in his face after he called the footballer a "w****r".
The Irish international also hit out at the 16-year-old, his fist stopping just before the youth's face, it was claimed.
The teenager, who gave evidence via a video link to Trafford Magistrates Court, denied making the story up so he could go to the press or sue the footballer. Keane is expected to give his evidence today.
The footballer denies the charge of criminal damage for snapping the youngster's £2.99 silver neck chain. He also denies assault and a public order offence on September 4th last year.
The two had clashed after the student rode his moped with a friend near Keane's home in Hale, Cheshire, last September.
The pair first clashed when Keane (33) was walking his dogs near his home. The youth was riding with a 17-year-old friend and beeped his horn to acknowledge Keane, he told the court.
Keane swung out with a stick he used while walking his dogs, it was alleged. The teenager turned round and made a lewd hand gesture towards Keane.
Weeks later, the youngsters, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were on their mopeds again visiting a house across the road from Keane's home and the footballer confronted the youth.
He told police he was sitting on his bike when he noticed Keane walking towards him. Keane said to him: "Did you call me a w****r? Why did you do that?" The youth replied: "Because you nearly hit me, you swung for me with your walking stick."
The youth added: "The next thing he did was swing at my face with his right fist. He said, 'that's nearly hitting you'. I flinched backwards." He threatened to call police but Keane just started laughing, the court was told.
"I started to walk past him, he grabbed my arm and turned me around to talk to him as I was walking away. I was quite intimidated, I was quite shocked." Keane then walked out of sight and the youth turned to his friend and said: "What a w****r." But Keane overheard the remark and reappeared.
"He approached me quite fast, walking over, pointing at me, saying 'Did you call me a w****r?"' the teenager reported.
"I said 'I don't know'. He was being pretty scary...He had his head right up against mine, he grabbed my shirt and must have caught my chain and was pointing. His forehead was touching mine, I was quite scared. When he was speaking he was spitting as well."
The chain fell to the ground and Keane seemed to calm down and offered to have it repaired. The teenager then left to report the matter and Keane was arrested later and charged.
The youth admitted telling Keane he was going to go to the press over what had happened. But he said reporters had lied, or exaggerated, what he had told them during interviews.
Later his friend gave evidence in court. The 17-year-old said they were no longer friends after a fall-out over a girl but his account largely agreed with the first boy's evidence. The case resumes today.