Woman glassed in face over spat on dancefloor at top Mayfair club
A WOMAN “glassed” a fellow reveller at an exclusive members club after an accidental “bump” on the dance floor turned violent, a court heard. Joanne Zanetton allegedly slapped and punched Olga Shnayder before hitting her in the face with a glass. The blow was struck “with great strength” as the two women clashed at the £2,000-a-year Arts Club in London’s Mayfair, jurors were told. Ms Shnayder was left with blood dripping down her face and a piece of glass embedded in her cheek, the court heard. After being treated by the “best plastic surgeon in Britain” she then flew to the US for a nose job. The medical treatment cost more than £19,000 and she now wants compensation, London’s Southwark Crown Court heard on Monday. But Zanetton, 38, claims she was the victim of the spat last November and acted in self-defence. She insists Shnayder struck the first blow by elbowing her so hard she stumbled backwards. CCTV footage appears to show the two women dancing close to each other before they collide at the club, which boasts Prince Philip as its patron. Ms Shnayder admits pulling Zanetton’s hair but denies punching her. She said the pair came together several times before she finally nudged Zanetton with her elbow. “If she’d just left it, it would not have happened, but she decided to slap me directly in my face and punch me,” Ms Shnayder said. “She did it deliberately. She hit me with great strength with the glass.” Jane Bickerstaff, QC, defending, suggested the incident was sparked by Ms Shnayder elbowing Zanetton “hard” which caused her to “stumble backwards”.
Asked what she did when Zanetton pushed her in retaliation, Ms Shnayder replied: “It looks like I am pulling her hair.”
Ms Bickerstaff said: “And punching her on top of the head?” Ms Shnayder said: “No, I didn’t punch her.”
The barrister said: “I suggest you were the aggressor and the other female was defending herself.” Ms Shnayder said she needed surgery at Northwick Park Hospital, north London, to remove a shard of glass from her cheek before flying to the US.
Ms Bickerstaff asked her: “Should we understand you went to America and had some remedial work on your scar and what is colloquially known as a nose job. Is that right?”
Ms Schnayder said she needed nose surgery in order to “fix my face”.
She explained: “I needed it to be fixed urgently.”
Zanetton, of Kensington, west London, denies causing grievous bodily harm.
The trial continues.