A RUGBY player dressed as Batman accused of assaulting another player told police he was grabbed by his alleged victim first, a court has heard.

Ryan Wilson, 25, claimed during his police interview that Ally Maclay - a Glasgow Warrior - laid hands on him in Barbeque Kings kebab shop.

He alleged he then took hold of Mr Maclay and that the incident was "pushed to the floor" but denied throwing any punches.

He also denied causing any serious injury to Mr Maclay - who suffered a fractured eye socket on the Halloween night out.

The rugby player admitted pulling Gavin Quinn from his chair in the takeaway and said it was because he was pushed first.

He told the police he asked Quinn if he could sit next to his friend and Warrior, Richie Vernon who was dressed as a shark.

The jury at the trial of Warriors Ryan Grant, 29, Ryan Wilson, 25 and Rory Hughes, 21 were played the recorded interview conducted by DC's Thomas Carey and Alistair Brown.

The players are accused of, whilst acting together, assaulting Mr Maclay at Barbeque Kings takeaway on Great Western Road on October 27, 2013.

It is alleged Grant, Wilson and Hughes, punched him on the face, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly punched and kicked him on the face and body to his severe injury.

Wilson, from Bearsden, Glasgow is accused of assaulting Gavin Quinn at the food joint.

He faces another charge of assaulting Mr Quinn, along with Hughes, from King's Park, Glasgow by repeatedly punching him on the head.

A recorded police interview Wilson gave after the alleged assaults was played to Glasgow Sheriff Court.

He said he went to Barbeque Kings after being in the nearby Viper nightclub and stood in the queue for food and he saw a friend in one of the booths and wanted to sit with him and asked a man sitting in the booth if he could.

Wilson said: "This guy got a little bit arsey pushed me away at which I tugged at his shirt and sorta said you know, 'what's going on' and that incident, that incident was over.

"It was nothing more than a pull at a shirt, he pushed me first and that was finished.

"Carried on with the normal thing. Stood in the queue get some chips, I was stood by the counter having some food and next thing I knew I was approached by this same guy, this time with two others, two gentlemen.

"At which point a little bit of an argument went off, there was some tussling went on. Next thing I knew the whole thing had been pushed to the floor. I was taken down by the guy's weight.

"We were on the floor it was probably a matter of five seconds, I have pushed my way out of it stood up and then left the scene, got a taxi, got a taxi home."

The jury heard Wilson was asked what happened after the tug of the shirt.

He said "The guy with the yellow vest I believe has come in and grabbed a hold of me. You know, I felt threatened, I didn't know whether he was splitting it up or grabbing hold of me obviously I have reacted and grabbed hold of him.

"A little bit of pushing and shoving has gone on like I said, which turned into us falling to the floor."

The court heard Wilson told police he knew who Ally Maclay is - who was wearing a yellow t-shirt and as part of his Tweedledee costume - and that he was a Glasgow Hawk.

During the interview police told him they had viewed CCTV of the incident and what they understood to have happened was put to him.

Wilson accepted that before the alleged assaults he put his foot on the table which Mr Quinn was sitting at, and he it pushed away.

Wilson was asked: "Your reason for that is you are going to climb over the table and squeeze in the seat? and he said "Yes."

The jury heard Wilson say that he pulled Quinn from his seat and when asked why, he said "Because he pushed me."

It was put to him that on that day he punched Mr Maclay in the face, knocking backwards but Wilson said that he did not remember punching him.

He also said "no" when asked if he remembered what happened in the corner of the restaurant.

Grant, from Hyndland, Wilson, from Bearsden and Hughes from King's Park, all Glasgow deny the charges and the trial before sheriff Martin Jones QC continues.