A Spanish politician has suggested Wayne Lineker has only got himself to blame for the Ibiza street assault that saw him knocked unconscious in an extraordinary attack on the British club owner.
Antonio Lorenzo said he was sorry about what had happened to the 62-year-old father-of-four, but took a swipe at the club owner for promoting ‘excesses and drunkenness’ on the party island.
Lineker was left knocked out for six minutes after being punched in the face in the party resort of San Antonio. It is understood that he was trying to protect a female friend who was being harassed.
But the left-wing politician, leader of the opposition PSOE party at San Antonio Town Hall, went on to link the attack to the type of tourism promoted by the brother of former England footballer and TV pundit Gary Lineker.
In a no-holds-barred attack on Wayne, whose club O Beach Ibiza is a magnet for party-loving Brits, he claimed the charismatic entrepreneur was a victim of his ‘offer of excesses and drunkenness.’
A Spanish politician has claimed Wayne Lineker has only got himself to blame for the Ibiza street assault (seen in this grab from footage of the incident) that saw him knocked unconscious in an extraordinary attack on the British club owner
The club owner was knocked unconscious for around five minutes as one woman came to help
Mr Lorenzo also used Wednesday morning’s horror assault to attack the right-wing People’s Party which won a landslide victory in last year’s municipal elections and has more than double the number of councillors than the PSOE.
The San Antonio opposition leader laid into Lineker in a fifty-word diatribe on X.
This came as the club owner took to Instagram to admit the footage of the attack he suffered had left him ‘disturbed’ and he felt ‘very fortunate’ to have come away from it with just stitches and a swollen lip.
Mr Lorenzo, who defines himself online as a ‘socialist in heart and mind’, said: ‘I am sorry about the assault on Wayne Lineker in San Antonio, and for any other assault that occurs.
‘This will not be solved with more security, it will be solved with a change in the tourism model which is currently non-existent.
‘Lineker has been a victim of his offer of excesses and drunkenness that the People’s Party allows.’
He linked his post to a local newspaper article about the assault on Wayne, which happened just after 4am on Wednesday near San Antonio’s Eden nightclub.
The article described the British entrepreneur as a ‘lover of parties who is well-known for receiving celebrities, especially footballers’ at O Beach Ibiza.
Scots expat Calvin Scoular, an Ibiza-based bar manager, reacted to Mr Lorenzo’s post on X overnight by branding him an ‘idiot.’
There has been no reaction so far from Wayne or the People’s Party in San Antonio to the shock comments.
Wayne Lineker (pictured) posted this photo of himself with a cut under his lip after being punched in the face
Police in Ibiza said yesterday Lineker has yet to press charges over the shocking assault he suffered.
A reveller thought to be a pal of the thug who knocked him out with his left fist was filmed starting a WWE-style count as he lay unconscious on the ground.
Local police sources, whose officers are employed by San Antonio Town Hall, said: ‘We went to the scene but the assault victim was no longer there.
‘No-one has yet filed a formal complaint.’
The Civil Guard, the other police force covering San Antonio, said yesterday it didn’t have a record of the incident.
Wayne said in his Instagram post yesterday: ‘I wanted to write this post to let everyone know that I’m doing ok… I have a few stitches and a swollen lip.
‘It could have been much worse so I count myself very fortunate I wasn’t standing 2 yards further back, as my head would have impacted the wall.
‘Obviously the video is very disturbing to see especially for my family.
The papers were very accurate and it was a simple case of me just trying to protect a girl from being harassed. Thank you everyone for all your messages of concern. The support has been really overwhelming.’
He added in a subsequent Instagram Live post, referring to his Ibiza-based pal Danny Onions: ‘Thanks you everyone. Overwhelmed.
The Ocean Beach club owner is the younger brother of former England striker and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker
‘Very special thanks to @dannyonions_ for looking after me for many hours after the event took place taking me to hospital and making sure I got home safe and ok.’
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, urban planning à la carte and corruption.
‘We need a progressive government so that we never again have to go through the shame of seeing a councillor trying to legalise a swimming pool built without a licence and so that the politicians who represent you do not treat you better or worse depending on the lineage that appears on your national ID card.’
Lorenzo hit headlines in December 2022 when he was forced to make a grovelling apology after being caught drink-driving in San Antonio.
He had four points taken off his licence and had to pay a fine of 250 euros (£210).
The politician, who stood for mayor at the last elections despite the scandal, was nearly twice the legal alcohol limit in Spain when he was stopped at a police checkpoint.
He escaped prosecution because he was under the criminal offence limit – and his faux pas was treated as an administrative infraction.
Mr Lorenzo tried to excuse his actions afterwards in a public apology by claiming he was just trying to change cars after a few drinks at a town hall dinner and hadn’t felt drunk. Asked by local press what alcohol he had consumed before the 6am police stop he said: ‘Two glasses of wine with the dinner and then a couple of beers.’
The politician, who is now trying to claim Wayne Lineker should carry some of the responsibility for the attack he suffered because of the drunk tourists he attracts to the island, added after his drink-drive shame: ‘It’s my first fine for something like that, it’s the first time this has happened and it won’t happen again.
‘It’s not right what I did and I’m not at all proud of what happened.’
But he went on to insist it wouldn’t affect his bid to become mayor of San Antonio, saying: ‘My team has said they will support me. We will carry on working towards our political project.’
Lorenzo’s comments on Lineker come amid growing anti-tourism sentiment in Spain.
Millions of people visit the Balearic Islands each year, which include Ibiza, Menorca and Majorca, and millions more visit Spain as a whole.
In fact, after France, Spain is the world’s second most visited country.
But with numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels, locals say they feel their way of life is coming under threat due to issues such as overcrowding and a lack of affordable housing, with properties instead being used as holiday rentals.
Protesters are seen marching through Ibiza calling for the local government to impose restrictions on mass tourism to the island
Although it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and despite officials working to promote the island as a family-friendly destination, Ibiza is primarily known for its nightlife and the electronic dance music club scene in the summer
In both Mallorca and Tenerife, there have been several instances of anti-tourism graffiti appearing on walls across the islands.
In April, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, calling on the government to tackle the issue of mass tourism.
A small group of those protesters took part in a hunger strike, which was called off after 20 days. The strikers said officials showed ‘zero interest’ in their plight.
Similar protests have been held in Majorca and Ibiza too, home to Lineker’s bar.
An activist group by the name of Prou Eivissa (Enough Ibiza) called on residents to take to the streets and protest for restrictions on tourism to the island.
Although it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and despite officials working to promote the island as a family-friendly destination, Ibiza is primarily known for its nightlife and the electronic dance music club scene in the summer.