Student denies racially abusing Stan Collymore on Twitter The court case follows a complaint from Stan Collymore over the alleged racist tweet. Photograph: Ian West/PA A law student has denied racially abusing the former footballer Stan Collymore on Twitter. Joshua Cryer, of Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, faced a public order charge following a complaint from the football pundit. Cryer, a 21-year-old student at Newcastle University, appeared before city magistrates to deny sending messages that were "grossly offensive." The case will be heard on 2 April and is expected to last for two hours. The defence called for one specific witness, unnamed in court, to attend on that day. Cryer was arrested last month after Collymore, a former England striker, reported the alleged online abuse to Staffordshire police and they passed the matter to their Northumbria police counterparts. Collymore, 40, originally from Cannock, Staffordshire, played for a string of top clubs including Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. He works as a broadcaster for talkSport, campaigns against racism and is a supporter of the Depression Alliance charity.