Calum Best breaks his silence as he is acquitted of sexually assaulting a British tourist at Wayne Lineker’s Ibiza club after CCTV footage ‘did not support the woman’s claim’

Reality TV icon Calum Best has said in his first comments that he has been proven right since he was acquitted of sexually assaulting a British holidaymaker at Wayne Lineker’s beach club in Ibiza.

The 42-year-old son of the late footballer George Best was told yesterday that he had been acquitted more than a week ago after a one-day trial at a court in Mallorca.

The three judges ruled that Spanish prosecutors had not done enough to convince them that Calum had forced his alleged victim to put her hand on his shorts and on his penis, as she claimed in her testimony in court.

They pointed out the lack of “external confirmation” of the tourist’s version of events and questioned why a friend who was with her at the time and a security guard from whom she said she had sought help had not been called to testify .

Calum, the 2006 Celebrity Love Island winner who also starred in two series of Celebrity Big Brother, protested his innocence from the dock.

In an Instagram Stories post alongside part of a news report confirming his acquittal, he wrote: “The truth wins. I was acquitted and won my case. Thank you everyone for all your messages of support.’

Calum Best appeared in court last week. The decision of the three trial judges on Wednesday to acquit him was said to have been taken unanimously

And in his first comments late yesterday, he said “the truth had triumphed” and thanked fans for their support.

In an Instagram Stories post alongside part of a news report confirming his acquittal, he wrote: “The truth wins. I was acquitted and won my case. Thank you everyone for all your messages of support.’

He ended the emotional post – which was superimposed over a picturesque image of a lake and rolling hills in the distance – with a heart emoticon.

California-born Calum, now based in Britain, was arrested late on April 22, 2022 after leaving the O Beach club in the Ibiza party resort of San Antonio.

He was held for about a day before being released, but was told the investigation into him would continue.

He was charged after a lengthy closed-door investigation and was told to report for trial at the Audiencia provincial court in the Mallorcan capital Palma last Tuesday.

His female accuser gave evidence via video link from Britain.

She alleged that Calum, the current chairman of the Dorking Wanderers FC women’s team, sexually assaulted her by putting her hands down his shorts and on his penis after telling her: ‘I have something for you, close your eyes .’

The reality TV icon and son of legendary footballer George Best faced a prison sentence of up to three years if found guilty, but found out on Wednesday he had been acquitted

Best, who won Celebrity Love Island with Bianca Gascoigne in 2006 and starred in two series of Celebrity Big Brother, was held in April 2022 over an incident at the O Beach Club in Ibiza (pictured) that was never made public at the time

Calum Best posed with his arm over Wayne Lineker’s shoulder at his 60th birthday party

Referring to the security guard she said she raised the alarm with at the O Beach club, the tourist recalled: “He asked if he was one of Wayne Lineker’s friends and when I said ‘yes’ he laughed and said that this happens all the time and told me, he had no intention of calling the police.”

Best’s lawyer Jaime Campaner told judges at his trial that they had to acquit his client after the son of the legendary former Manchester United star took the defense stand and insisted he had done nothing wrong and traveled to Mallorca ‘to to clear your name’.

In their acquittal, the judges highlighted the lack of “external corroboration” of the female tourist’s version of events, confirming that available CCTV footage had not provided information supporting her claims.

They said in their six-page written ruling: ‘There is no other information from external sources of evidence that supports the complainant’s testimony, and the court finds it relevant that her friend, who was with her in the initial moments of initial contact with her , The suspect, who allegedly accompanied her to a guard, did not appear at the hearing.

Calum Best is the son of legendary footballer George Best who he saw play for Manchester United against Leicester City at Old Trafford in 1972

Calum is seen as a young boy who was carried in 1984 by his father George Best, who scored 181 goals in 474 games for Manchester United and was capped 37 times by Northern Ireland.

‘The security guard was also not mentioned as a witness.

‘The friend was identified in the police report and the guard would have been easy to identify.

“If evidence is available that could have been used to support testimony and it is not used in court without justifying the impossibility of doing so, a situation of objective doubt arises.”

They concluded: “In this case, the prosecution’s evidence was not sufficient to undermine the right to the presumption of innocence.”