OJ Simpson pleads his innocence

OJ Simpson has slammed reports he robbed a sports memorabilia dealer at a hotel recently - insisting he is innocent.

The former American football star reportedly raided a suite at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas last Thursday, pretending to be part of a group interested in buying memorabilia items from collector Alfred Beardsley.

These items included the suit Simpson wore when he was acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

He now faces charges including robbery with a deadly weapon, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison - but Simpson is adamant he is innocent.

He says: "Everybody knows this is stolen stuff. Not only wasn't there a break-in, but Thomas Riccio (the auction house owner) escorted us up to the room. In any event, it's stolen stuff that's mine. Nobody was roughed up.

"I'm O.J. Simpson. How am I going to rob somebody and get away with it? This is somebody going to get his private (belongings) back. That's it. That's not robbery. I don't hang out with gangsters; I hang out with golfers."