Former St Helens player Sean Long has reportedly denied accusations that he put his hands around the throat of a disabled woman over a rent dispute.
St Helens Magistrates Court heard that the 37-year-old allegedly attacked Pamela Twist and called her a "stupid cripple" while trying to pick up rent money from her now-estranged husband Paul.
According to the Daily Mail, Long has denied the attack, admitting that he was "devastated" to be accused of being a "woman beater".
Long's barrister Sean Joyce has claimed that the 41-year-old woman in question has fabricated the truth because she owed thousands of pounds to the rugby league star.