‘Self-interest’: Amateur boxer’s apology over brawl that left soccer referee with broken jaw branded not ‘genuine’

A judge has been urged not to accept the apology of an amateur boxer who broke a soccer referee’s jaw. The prosecution at Downing Centre Local Court branded the move as an act of “self interest” rather than genuine remorse. Adam Abdallah came to the public’s attention in 2023 after a video that appeared to show him attacking soccer referee Khodr Yaghi after a match at Padstow Oval in southwestern Sydney was circulated online. He punched Mr Yaghi multiple times in the face and kicked him in the head, leaving the referee with four missing teeth and a broken jaw. The amateur boxer initially pleaded not guilty to reckless grievous bodily harm, and was granted bail in May 2023 after the circulation of an extended version of the viral video appeared to show he’d been attacked first. He changed his plea to guilty in September. More than 18 months after the wild brawl, Abdallah was supported by a large group of his family in court on Monday ahead of sentencing. The court was told Abdallah had written an apology over the incident just days prior. However, the Department of Public Prosecutions prosecutor Holly Bates claimed Judge Nicole Noman should not accept the apology as “genuine” but rather a move of “self-interest”. “In relation to the issue of remorse, the Crown submits that Your Honour would not accept the remorse outlined as being genuine,” Ms Bates said. “It’s rather self-interest. It was only written, authored and signed Friday.” Ms Bates claimed that Abdallah “continued to victim blame” and “attempted to minimise his actions” just months before writing the apology. “He maintained that position all the way up until last Friday,” she said. However, Abdallah’s defence, Greg James KC,earlier told the court that remorse was not “black and white”. “One might well feel that you’ve been whacked on the head, knocked to the ground, being the subject of the approach by the victim, and then reacted as you feel others would in your situation … but regret your conduct and regret that all having brought you to the prosecution and the litigation and the remand of such a period of time,” he said. “Our simple submission is there is remorse there — how you want to weigh it is a different thing.” The court was also shown three videos on Monday, with the first two being different angles of the brawl. In them, Abdallah appears to punch Mr Yaghi several times. While a large crowd surrounding the pair made it at times difficult to see, Abdallah at one point also appears to pick up a plastic chair. Blood was captured dripping down Mr Yaghi’s face in one of the videos. The third video shown in court was a boxing match in which Abdallah knocked his opponent to the ground. Judge Noman adjourned the case until Wednesday. She warned Abdallah to “be prepared” that he may be taken into custody. “It is a situation where there is of course a significant chance that your client may go into custody, but it’s not definitive,” Judge Noman said. “He should be prepared that that may be one of the outcomes.”