Instagram influencer Hossein ‘Yakiboy’ Balapour faces court accused of breaking a man’s jaw in Knockout Festival brawl at Sydney Olympic Park

An Instagram-famous bodybuilder reacted in self-defense after being accosted and insulted at a music festival by someone who was drunk and high, a court heard.

Hossein 'Yakiboy' Balapour appeared in Sydney's Burwood Local Court on Friday, where he expected to face a charge of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm.

He is accused of assaulting a man at Sydney Olympic Park in October last year, causing grievous bodily harm and breaking the alleged victim's jaw.

Balapour arrived at the court with a big grin with gold teeth and took to Instagram to share selfies posted by supporters as they waited to enter the courtroom.

He was still smiling as he left court after his bail conditions were relaxed when the case was adjourned until next year.

Magistrate Vivian Swain has lifted the 24-hour curfew on Balapour, meaning he can leave the house.

His seven-day police report was also reduced to just three days a week.

But the hearing was cut short when his lawyers argued that NSW Police had failed in their duty of full disclosure because CCTV footage of the alleged incident had not been sent to them in full.

Dressed in a black suit paired with patent black loafers, the 33-year-old sat in the back of the court as a prosecutor said both men attended the Knockout Festival on October 1, 2022.

“They were not present together… there was an altercation between the two and the prosecution alleges that a punch was thrown,” the prosecutor said.

“Our ultimate case is that the impact caused injuries amounting to grievous bodily harm… there was significant jaw injury requiring surgical intervention.”

He said it was not in dispute that the pair had had an “altercation” but claimed it was a “conscious and voluntary act” by Mr Balapour to hit the alleged victim. blue'.

But Balapour's lawyer, Tom Hughes, told the court the punch was an act of self-defense.

Mr Hughes said the alleged victim was visiting the festival with friends after smoking marijuana and drinking 350ml of tequila when he recognized Balapour and approached him.

He said the man was “obviously drunk.”

“There was a confrontation and the defendant (Mr Balapour) punched the complainant… it's a matter of reasonable self-defence,” Mr Hughes said.

Mr Hughes told the court that Balapour had never met or heard of the man, who recognized the fitness influencer from Instagram.

“He was recognized by the complainant who saw his Instagram posts and subsequently uttered a number of abusive words towards my client,” he said.

He told the court there was a conversation between the men and the alleged victim in which “some unpleasant things” were said about Balapour.

The court heard that both men were from Iran and that the alleged victim 'directed an insulting conversation against' Mr Balapour in relation to his opposition to the regime in Iran.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Senior Constable William Lay, was called to give evidence but this was cut short when Mr Hughes objected to the provision of CCTV footage of the incident.

Mr Hughes told the court he had only received two minutes and forty seconds of footage from police, when in reality they had ten hours before the event.

It was later revealed that Senior Constable Lay had received 10 hours of footage from 20 different cameras, meaning he had 200 hours of footage from the festival.

“What has not been made public is 10 hours of footage showing the complainant, who suffered a broken jaw, being at the concert five to six hours after the altercation,” Hughes said.

Senior Constable Lay told the court he had not served the entire 200 hours as he had watched for about two hours after the incident and did not consider it relevant

After lengthy arguments from both sides, Magistrate Swain told the court it was clear that not all of the material had been served in his defense.

“The prosecutor has a duty of full disclosure, she cannot pick and choose what to serve… it is a matter for the defense to have access to everything to determine what is relevant,” Ms Swain said.

“The court does not take into account the officer's opinion about what he considered relevant.”

She decided to postpone the case so the defense could get the 200 hours of footage and use it in her case.

Mr Hughes told the court the reason for the delay was not Balapour's fault and that he would be asking NSW Police to pay costs for the delay.

The magistrate said she would determine costs at the end of the proceedings, with the case adjourned until July 2024.