MasterChef judge and souvlaki genius George Calombaris’ conviction for assaulting a teenager at the A-League Grand Final last year has just been overturned in court.
Calombaris has today won an appeal against the conviction for punching a 19-year-old punter in the gut at the Sydney match, calling the moment a “brain freeze”.
He repeatedly expressed his regret for “that silly mistake I made on that day. It was a brain freeze … it was a moment in time I’m deeply, deeply, deeply upset about”.
ICYMI:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4kNWl28_Ts
It was all quite Calombarrassing, really.
Judge (court judge, not MasterChef judge) Andrew Scotting agreed with Calombaris’ lawyer David Edwardson QC that the 39-year-old chef had suffered huge financial and personal loss due to the scuffle, and was unlikely to reoffend.
He’s not wrong; Calomboris’ representatives told the court he lost around $750,000 in endorsements following the fuck up, after Bulla Dairy and ULR Land Rover dropped him over the controversy.
Despite the grievous financial woes, Calombaris said the emotional impact was greater than the financial consequences and admitted he had hurt the victim, his family, friends, stakeholders and business partners.
He recognised that he was a role model and that he was working towards “being a better man”.
He’s also given up his role as Victory‘s number one ticket holder, giving himself a 12-month ban on attending footy games in ‘Straya.
Judge Scotting dismissed the charge and placed GC on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
Here’s hoping he stays in the kitchen and keeps cookin’ us up them crab souvlakis. Damn they taste good.
