The former vice-chair of Tottenham broke a fellow shopper's nose in Harrods after a row over two croissants, a court heard.
David Buchler, who ran Spurs in the early 90s and oversaw Sir Alan Sugar's takeover of the north-London club, is accused of punching a shopper after getting into a dispute with his wife at the till.
The spat, On New Year's Eve, kicked off after Buchler pushed to the front of the queue to pay for two croissants in the top store's food hall, the court was told.
Buchler, 54 claims that either James Birrane or his wife Rosaria, called him a 'dirty Jew'.