How ugly row between Anthony ‘Kouta’ Koutoufides and the builder of his multimillion-dollar Melbourne mansion boiled over

By William On Jan 10, 2024

A fierce feud between AFL great and Dancing With The Stars champion Anthony Koutoufides and the builder of his mansion ‘came out of nowhere’ before exploding into a hot mess now destined for court.

The now 50-year-old is known as ‘Kouta’ and is accused of failing to pay the last installment of his multi-million dollar business in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe and changing the locks to keep the builder out.

Documents provided to Daily Mail Australia by Kouta’s legal team show that the former footballer’s family made it clear on October 17 that they intended to move into the house.

It was the correspondence that surprised the construction company director after he had worked on the Koutoufides site for 26 months.

By the time the builder’s attorney responded to the correspondence eight days later, Kouta had already changed the locks and moved his family in.

‘What is particularly disappointing for them is that there was nothing in the history of their relationship with Mr and Mrs Koutoufides that could even remotely justify this. It came, to quote my instructor, “out of nowhere,” the builder’s lawyer wrote at the time.

Anthony and Susie Koutoufides are embroiled in a bitter dispute with the builder of their mansion

The completed Kouta mansion in leafy Ivanhoe

At the time, Kouta appeared to object to the final payment due on the $129,910 home, offering to pay $13,950 less due to “liquidated damages” caused by a 31-week delay in the home’s completion date.

“Due to (the builder) failing to meet the required completion date, the owner is in an extremely precarious position as she has overextended her lease and now must vacate her rented premises together with her family by 12 noon on September 19.” October 2023,” the builder was advised.

Kouta’s legal team – Melbourne lawyers Olivia Terziovski and Imran Fatah – claimed the couple had not had the opportunity to carry out the final inspection ‘due to the manner in which the builder attended to the completion process’.

Three months later, Kouta and his wife Susie, who is listed as the owner of the property, have not paid a cent of the final bill because the house is riddled with defects.

On Wednesday, Kouta responded to the builder’s accusations, claiming he and his wife were victims of a vicious trolling campaign.

AFL legend Anthony ‘Kouta’ Koutoufides and his wife Susie are accused of refusing to make the final payment on their multi-million dollar property

Susie and Kouta in 2003

Mr Fatah said the trolling was as bad as the Koutoufides are now in the process of gathering material to make a complaint to Victoria Police about ‘threatening trading behaviour’.

“They are awaiting the reports of the independent experts so that they can consider their options regarding litigation and are also considering defamation actions,” he said.

The couple claims the employee sent an email to some of the builder’s subcontractors with their contact details.

A report by Daily Mail Australia called the Koutoufides ‘sons of bitches’.

“Please help us win this battle, not only for ourselves, but for you and all other contractors who are owed money,” the employee wrote.

Mr Fatah claimed the emails had resulted in a “vicious campaign” against Koutoufides and his wife.

Kouta was crowned Dancing With The Stars champion alongside Natalie Lowe in 2006

Kouta and Susie have been an AFL power couple

The Koutoufides claim their contract with the builder was terminated by them when they refused to accept their lower payment in October.

‘Should (the builder) fail to provide confirmation of acceptance before 4:00 p.m. on an equal date, our client will regard this as evidence of (the builder’s) intention to no longer be bound to the terms of the construction contract and may choose to accept conduct such as repudiating the construction contract,” their lawyer told the builder at the time.

The builder declined to comment to Daily Mail Australia.

Kouta was an AFL powerhouse in the 1990s and early 2000s, playing 278 games for Carlton, including a premiership-winning season in 1995.

He subsequently became a reality TV star with roles such as ‘Kouta the Greek God’ in the Seven Network revival of Gladiators in 2008 and twice on Dancing With The Stars, where he was crowned champion in 2006.

WHO IS ANTHONY KOUTOUFIDES?

The man known as ‘Kouta’ was a powerful AFL star who played almost every position during his career.

Often referred to as the prototype of the modern footballer, Koutoufides played 278 games for Carlton, including their 1995 premiership team.

Koutoufides did not see his football career without some controversy.

In 1997, the then AFL poster boy caused a stir when he secured an individual Adidas sponsorship, which conflicted with Carlton’s Nike sponsorship.

In October 2002, Koutoufides married Susie Angeloski and they now have three children.

It was the same year that Carlton became embroiled in a salary cap fraud scandal, which saw the club fined $930,000 and lose all their early draft picks for the next two seasons.

It was Koutoufides’ huge salary that sparked the investigation at the time. There is no suggestion that he has engaged in any wrongdoing in relation to the matter.

Koutoufides retired in 2007 and has appeared in several reality shows, including playing ‘Kouta the Greek God’ in the Seven Network’s revival of Gladiators in 2008.

He owned a Souvlaki Hut restaurant for a while and appeared in comedic advertisements featuring a gorilla.