Celebrity chef George Calombaris has banned himself from the A-League and handed back Melbourne Victory's No.1 ticket after facing court for assaulting a teenager at last season's grand final.
But how a Sydney magistrate will penalise the MasterChef judge won't be known for six weeks after sentencing was delayed on Friday.
Outside Downing Centre Local Court, Calombaris stood down from his role as Victory's No.1 ticketholder and expressed sorrrow for the incident in May.
The court on Friday heard the 38-year-old called the victim a "big-mouth man" and a "dodgy c***" before punching him in the abdomen.
Calombaris's lawyer, Patrick Conaghan, said his client had believed the victim had called his mother a c***.
The Network Ten personality told reporters he wouldn't attend any A-League matches for the next 12 months.
Calombaris last month pleaded guilty to assaulting a 19-year-old fan at the 2016-17 season decider between Victory and Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.
"As I said the day after the incident, I'm very upset with what I did," the Melbourne-based chef said.
"No one deserves verbal abuse and I stand by that.
"But I am disappointed that I have impacted certain people's lives, and I do apologise."
The chef also apologised to his 19-year-old victim, for taking up NSW Police's time and the impact the incident had on the football community.
He said he hoped the episode would be a lesson to young kids.
"Leave verbal abuse elsewhere - it's not needed," Calombaris said.
"My reaction was unacceptable and I'm deeply, deeply upset by it."
Calombaris had been expected to be sentenced on Friday only for Magistrate David Price to order a new document be prepared to help determine the chef's penalty.
Mr Price said there was "a plethora of superior court decisions" showing the need to take public assaults seriously.
The matter is expected to return to Downing Centre Local Court on October 20.
Calombaris is also dealing with the fallout of his restaurant and hospitality chain Made Establishment not properly paying wages to staff.
It referred itself to Australia's workplace regulator in April after it was revealed the restaurant and hospitality chain had underpaid 162 staff by $2.6 million.
The Fair Worrk Ombudsman on Wednesday urged Made to finalise the repayments as soon as possible.
Share
