Calombaris dished up fine for A-League grand final assault

MasterChef judge George Calombaris has been convicted and fined $1000 following an assault of a teen at the A-League grand final in May.

The celebrity chef was charged with assault after he was seen in footage shot exclusively by The World Game assaulting a 19-year-old fan in the stands at Allianz Stadium during the heated decider between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory.

Calombaris fronted Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court for his sentencing hearing on Friday where magistrate Peter Miszalski dished out the fine, despite admitting he was "very much a fan" of the celebrity chef.

Mr Miszalski however, was unsympathetic to the chef, convicting him of common assault and admonishing his aggressive behaviour.

Calombaris pleaded guilty in August to assault and stood down from his role as Victory's No.1 ticket holder while banning himself from A-League games for 12 months to express his remorse.
George Calombaris
The footage of the incident played to the court on Friday showed Calombaris first chatting to Football Federation Australia boss David Gallop as fans from the stands yelled out to him baiting the chef, who then went over and returned fire.

The TV personality has been under fire this year, also making headlines in April after being found to have underpaid staff to the tune of $2.6 million, with members of the crowd also taunting him about the pay bungle.

Tensions boiled over with Calombaris seen waving his Victory scarf and pointing to the crowd before walking over and assaulting the fan, at which point police intervened. 

The court heard on Friday the 39-year-old may have been provoked by insults shouted from the crowd after the grand final, which Sydney won 4-2 on penalties.

The court previously heard Calombaris called the victim a "big-mouth man" and a "dodgy c***" before punching him in the abdomen.

Mr Miszalski on Friday admonished Calombaris' aggressive reaction to the "yahoo" factor in the crowd.
"I suspect (media) labelled him a thug," the magistrate said when informed the highly-publicised altercation resulted in Calombaris missing out on a $300,000 ambassadorship.

"It's not as though somebody's come up to him and got into his face and abused him, he's made his way into the crowd and started to mouth off - in no uncertain words.

"You don't get sucked into the drama. Once you do that - you're gone."

The magistrate said he wanted to send a message that high-profile people wouldn't simply get a slap on the wrist.

"It was a very public display of aggression," he said.

"I watched those programs many years ago and was very much a fan. To see a man like this come before the court is a tragedy."

Calombaris was subdued as he left court on Friday quickly pushing past reporters before he climbed into a waiting car without making any comment.


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3 min read
Published 20 October 2017 3:57pm
Updated 20 October 2017 4:04pm

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