MasterChef judge George Calombaris charged with assaulting Sydney teen

MasterChef judge George Calombaris has been charged with assault after footage showed him shoving a teenage soccer fan at the A-League grand finals in Sydney.

New South Wales police have charged the 38-year-old with assault and the celebrity chef will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on June 29, reports the Daily Mail.

The video that implicated Calombaris shows a 19-year-old man shouting from the stands, "Pay your staff you dodgy b*****d", referring to the chef's recent wages blunder.

Calombaris responded by striding over to the man and shoving him in the stomach.

Speaking anonymously to A Current Affair, the victim, who filed a statement with police following the incident, said: "I couldn't believe I got punched by the bloke off MasterChef, really.

"He was yelling out 'come on the field, come on the field', and he came over and hit me in the stomach. I couldn't believe it."

While the young man said he didn't hear anyone around him abusing the chef's family, in a statement released on Monday, Calombaris alleges that taunts about his family sparked his aggressive reaction.

"I am really disappointed with what occurred last night," he said.

"I regret the way in which I reacted, I am disappointed that I let it get to me, and I sincerely apologise for offending anyone.

"While I am not proud of my reaction to the situation, I was offended by a spectator yelling out abusive and derogatory comments about my family."

Last month the MasterChef judge made an apology after it was revealed that his restaurant staff had been underpaid by $AUD2.6 million.

More than 18 months earlier, Australia's Fair Work Ombudsman advised Calombaris' MAdE Establishment that 162 staff in three Melbourne restaurants were being underpaid.

The blunder was put down to "historically poor processes" and Calombaris told staff he was "devastated by what had happened" and "was so sorry we have messed up and let you down".