Anthony Koutoufides' eyebrow-raising comment about the construction of his mansion surfaces - before AFL hero's ugly feud with his builder spilled out into public view

Anthony Koutoufides in row with builder He is accused of changing locks on mansion  But he said building was 'beautiful' days before  Know more?: Email [email protected]   READ MORE: Why Anthony 'Kouta' Koutoufides locked builder out of his multimillion-dollar Melbourne mansion before making final payment

The ugly spat between AFL hero and Dancing With The Stars champion Anthony Koutoufides and the builder of his mansion has taken another bizarre twist.

It can be revealed that ‘Kouta’ publicly told the builder the home was ‘beautiful’ just days before allegedly failing to pay the final bill and changing the locks.

Kouta, 50, and his wife Susie have been accused of failing to cough up the final instalment on their multi-million dollar property in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe amid a dispute with the builder over the completion date.

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

The construction firm said the move came completely ‘out of the blue’.

And now it has emerged that just a fortnight earlier, on October 1, Kouta had left a glowing review on the building company’s Instagram page underneath a picture of the mansion.

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

The completed Kouta mansion in leafy Ivanhoe

‘Looks beautiful,’ the ex-AFL star wrote, accompanied by a ‘fire’ emoji.

The comment was liked by the family-owned business, which had been working on the property for over two years. (Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Kouta’s comment takes away from his subsequent issues with the builder.)

By the time the firm’s lawyer got around to responding to the letter eight days later, Kouta had already changed the locks and moved his family in.

‘What is particularly disappointing to them is that there was nothing in the history of their relationship with Mr and Mrs Koutoufides that could remotely warrant it. It came, to quote my instructor, “out of the blue”,’ the builder’s lawyer wrote then.

At the time, Kouta appeared to take issue with the final payment owed on the house of $129,910 – offering to pay $13,950 less due to ‘liquidated damages’ caused by a 31-week delay in the home’s completion date.

On 1 October – just days before he and his wife allegedly failed to pay his final bill and changed the locks on the mansion – Kouta left a glowing review on the builder’s Instagram page underneath a picture of the mansion (pictured)

‘Due to [the builder’s] failure to meet the Required Completion Date, the Owner is in an extremely precarious position as she has overextended her lease and is now required to vacate her leased property along with her family by no later than 12 pm on 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 undertake the final inspection ‘due to the manner in which the builder has attended to the completion process’.

Three months on, Kouta and his wife Susie, who is listed as the property owner, haven’t paid a penny off the final bill amid claims the home is littered with defects.

On Wednesday, Kouta hit back at the builder’s accusations, claiming he and his wife had become the victims of a vicious trolling campaign.

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

Susie and Kouta in 2003

Mr Fatah said the trolling was so bad the Koutoufides were now in the process of compiling materials to make a complaint to Victoria Police about ‘threatening conduct from trades’.

‘They are waiting on the reports of the independent experts so they can consider their options in relation to litigation and are also considering defamation action,’ he said. 

The couple claims that the employee sent an email to a number of the builder’s subcontractors providing their contact details.

One message seen by Daily Mail Australia referred to the Koutoufides as ‘bastards’.

‘Please help us win this fight not only for ourselves but for you and all other contractors 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 champ in 2006 alongside Natalie Lowe

Kouta and Susie have been an AFL power couple

The Koutoufides maintain their contract with the builder was repudiated by them when they refused to accept their reduced payment in October.

‘Should [the builder] fail to provide confirmation of acceptance by 4 pm on even date, our client will consider this as the evidence of [the builder’s] intention to no longer be bound by the terms of the Building Contract and may elect to accept such conduct as repudiation of the Building Contract,’ their lawyer told the builder then.

The builder declined to comment to Daily Mail Australia. 

Kouta was an AFL powerhouse in the ’90s and early 2000s, playing 278 games for Carlton including a premiership-winning season in 1995.

He went on to become a reality television star with roles such as ‘Kouta the Greek God’ in the Seven Network’s 2008 revival of Gladiators and two stints on Dancing With The Stars, where he was crowned champion in 2006.