A Spanish politician has suggested that Wayne Lineker has only himself to blame for the assault on the streets of Ibiza in which he was left unconscious in an extraordinary attack on the British club owner.
Antonio Lorenzo said he was sorry for what happened to the 62-year-old father of four, but criticized the club owner for promoting “excesses and drunkenness” on the party island.
Lineker was knocked out for six minutes after being punched in the face in the San Antonio resort. It is understood he was trying to protect a friend who was being harassed.
But the left-wing politician, leader of the opposition PSOE party in the San Antonio City Council, linked the attack to the type of tourism promoted by the brother of former English soccer player and television commentator Gary Lineker.
In a no-holds-barred attack on Wayne, whose O Beach Ibiza club is a magnet for party-loving Brits, he claimed the charismatic businessman was a victim of his “offer of excess and drunkenness”.
A Spanish politician has claimed that Wayne Lineker has only himself to blame for the assault on the streets of Ibiza (seen in this screenshot of the incident) in which he was left unconscious in an extraordinary attack on the British club owner .
The club owner was left unconscious for about five minutes while a woman came to help him.
Lorenzo also took advantage of Wednesday morning’s horrific attack to attack the right-wing Popular Party, which won a landslide victory in last year’s municipal elections and has more than twice as many councilors as the PSOE.
San Antonio’s opposition leader lashed out at Lineker in a fifty-word tirade about X.
This came as the club owner took to Instagram to admit that footage of the attack he suffered had left him “disturbed” and he felt “very lucky” to have walked away with only stitches and a swollen lip.
Lorenzo, who describes himself online as a “socialist in heart and mind,” said: “I regret the assault on Wayne Lineker in San Antonio and any other assaults that occur.”
‘This will not be solved with more security, it will be solved with a change in the tourism model that is currently non-existent.
“Lineker has been a victim of his offer of excesses and drunkenness that the Popular Party allows.”
He linked his post to a local newspaper article about the assault on Wayne, which occurred shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday near San Antonio’s Eden nightclub.
The article described the British businessman as a ‘party lover who is known for hosting celebrities, especially footballers’ at O Beach Ibiza.
Scottish expat Calvin Scoular, a bar manager based in Ibiza, reacted overnight to Mr Lorenzo’s post on X by calling him an “idiot”.
So far there has been no reaction from Wayne or the People’s Party in San Antonio to the shocking comments.
Wayne Lineker (pictured) posted this photo of himself with a cut below his lip after being punched in the face.
Ibiza police said yesterday that Lineker has not yet pressed charges for the shocking assault he suffered.
A reveler believed to be friends with the thug who knocked him out with his left fist was filmed beginning a WWE-style countout as he lay unconscious on the ground.
Local police sources, whose officers are employees of the San Antonio City Council, said: ‘We went to the scene but the victim of the attack was no longer there.
“No one has filed a formal complaint yet.”
The Civil Guard, the other police force that covers San Antonio, said yesterday that it had no record of the incident.
Wayne said in his Instagram post yesterday: ‘I wanted to write this post to let everyone know I’m okay… I have some stitches and a swollen lip.
“It could have been a lot worse, so I consider myself very lucky that I wasn’t two meters further back, as my head would have hit the wall.”
‘Obviously the video is very disturbing to watch, especially for my family.
The documents were very precise and it was a simple case of me simply trying to protect a girl from harassment. Thank you all for all the messages of concern from her. The support has been truly overwhelming.”
He added in a later Instagram Live post, referring to his Ibiza-based friend Danny Onions: “Thank you all. Overwhelmed.
The owner of the Ocean Beach club is the younger brother of former England striker and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker.
“A very special thank you to @dannyonions_ for taking care of me for many hours after the event, taking me to the hospital and making sure I got home safely.”
Antonio Lorenzo boasted ahead of last year’s elections in San Antonio: ‘The PSOE will win the elections to put an end to cronyism, hand-picked contracts, a la carte urban planning and corruption.
“We need a progressive government so that we never again have to go through the shame of seeing a councilor trying to legalize a swimming pool built without a license and so that the politicians who represent you do not treat you better or worse according to the lineage that appears on your national document of identity.’
Lorenzo made headlines in December 2022 when he was forced to humiliately apologize after being caught driving under the influence in San Antonio.
He had four points taken off his license and had to pay a €250 (£210) fine.
The politician, who ran for mayor in the last elections despite the scandal, had almost double the legal alcohol limit in Spain when he was stopped at a police checkpoint.
He escaped prosecution because he was below the criminal offense threshold and his misstep was treated as an administrative offense.
Lorenzo attempted to excuse his actions later with a public apology, stating that he was only trying to change cars after having a few drinks at a dinner at the town hall and had not felt drunk. When asked by local press what alcohol he had consumed before the 6am police stop, he replied: “Two glasses of wine with dinner and then a couple of beers.”
The politician, who is now trying to claim part of the responsibility from Wayne Lineker for the attack he suffered due to the drunk tourists he attracts to the island, added after his embarrassment for driving under the influence: “It’s my first fine for something So”. , this is the first time this has happened and it will not happen again.
“What I did is not right and I am not at all proud of what happened.”
But he continued to insist that it would not affect his bid to be mayor of San Antonio, saying, “My team has said they will support me.” “We will continue working for our political project.”
Lorenzo’s comments about Lineker come amid growing anti-tourism sentiment in Spain.
Millions of people visit the Balearic Islands, which include Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca, each year, and millions more visit Spain as a whole.
In fact, after France, Spain is the second most visited country in the world.
But as numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, locals say they feel their way of life is threatened due to issues such as overcrowding and a lack of affordable housing, with properties being used instead as holiday rentals. .
Protesters are seen marching through Ibiza calling on the local government to impose restrictions on mass tourism on the island.
Although it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and although officials work to promote the island as a family destination, Ibiza is primarily known for its nightlife and electronic dance music club scene in the summer.
In both Mallorca and Tenerife, there have been several cases of anti-tourist graffiti that have appeared on the walls of the islands.
In April, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, calling on the government to address the problem of mass tourism.
A small group of those protesters participated in a hunger strike, which was called off after 20 days. The strikers said officials showed “zero interest” in their plight.
Similar protests have also occurred in Mallorca and Ibiza, where the Lineker bar is located.
An activist group called Prou Eivissa (Enough of Ibiza) called on residents to take to the streets and protest restrictions on tourism on the island.
Although it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and although officials work to promote the island as a family destination, Ibiza is primarily known for its nightlife and electronic dance music club scene in the summer.