George Best's son Calum cleared of sexual assault at O Beach club in Ibiza
17 January 2024, 14:22
George Best's son has been cleared of sexual assault at Wayne Lineker's Ibiza club.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Calum Best was found not guilty following a trial in Spain after a British holidaymaker claimed she was attacked at O Beach in April 2022.
He had faced up to three years in jail had he been convicted, but he was cleared after a one-day trial in Palma, Mallorca.
The woman said she had kissed him and went to a smoking area with him to say sorry for her friend accidentally filming Best in the background of a video.
They had encountered each other during Wayne Lineker's 60th birthday party.
Read more: Met to lead nationwide probe into Post Office Horizon Scandal, Commissioner tells LBC
She claimed he told her to close her eyes then put her hand down his shorts and onto his penis as he kissed her, then said there was "some kind of forcing" before she managed to get away.
The woman, whose identity is being kept anonymous, said she did not want him to put her hand down his shorts.
"And it wasn't what I expected when he asked me to close my eyes and told me he had something for me," she told the court.
She said she had a panic attack and spoke to a security worker after, but he laughed after he told her it was one of Wayne Lineker's friends.
Best, who previously won Celebrity Love Island in 2006 and appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, denied the claims.
He said he allowed the woman to take pictures of himself with her and she followed him as he went for a cigarette. He said he made an excuse to leave her.
He denied he had become angry over a photo or video incident prior.
Best, 42, who is based in London, told the court: "The main thing is that I know people get very drunk at the O Beach club and I don't think she would have made the allegations she did if she hadn't been drinking heavily."
CCTV did not capture any incident, and Best's defence pointed out how prosecutors said he had allegedly told the victim "feel this", but the accuser had not used that phrase herself.
He was ultimately found not guilty.
Best is the chairman of Dorking Wanderers' women's team.
His legendary father, who starred for Manchester United, died in 2005 after a history of alcoholism. His son has described himself as teetotal.
