Gary Lineker will not be able to pay tribute at a memorial service for his friend, the football writer Brian Glanville. This is due to Lineker’s criticisms of Israel.
Celebrated reporter Glanville, who died aged 93, was Jewish and his son Mark said: ‘I am not having Lineker anywhere near Dad’s memorial.’
Jo, the sister of Mark, had proposed the idea of having Lineker speak at the service, which was to be held at St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street. This suggestion came as the family was aware of Lineker and Glanville’s long-standing friendship dating back to Lineker’s early days at Leicester.
However, Lineker, aged 64, has had to step down from his role at Match Of The Day following a social media post he shared that was critical of Zionism. The post featured an illustration of a rat, a symbol used by the Nazis to depict Jews.
Mark said: ‘I can’t have somebody coming to speak at my Dad’s memorial service who, though not anti-Semitic, is someone who is giving ammunition to people who are anti-Semites.
‘Once you share a picture of a rat which is associated with Nazis, you really are crossing a line.’
He added that Glanville, who died last month after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, would not have wanted Lineker to speak, despite his admiration for him as a player and Match Of The Day host.
He said the horrors of the Holocaust deeply affected Glanville, who was born in 1931 and suffered anti-Semitic abuse at fee-paying Charterhouse School.
Gary Lineker will be barred from paying tribute at a memorial service for a friend, football writer Brian Glanville (above), because of his attacks on Israel
Celebrated reporter Glanville (right), who died aged 93, was Jewish and his son Mark said he would not have Lineker ‘anywhere near’ his father’s memorial
Lineker (above) left his Match Of The Day role early after sharing an anti-Zionism post that had an illustration of a rat, which is how the Nazis characterised Jews
Mark said: ‘Dad was passionate about Israel. He was a schoolboy during the Second World War but he was aware of what happened.
‘He saw Israel, after all the utter horror, like so many Jews, as a country that was Jewish and where Jews could thrive as Jews and be safe.
‘I do not think Lineker is an anti-Semite. But he does single out almost exclusively Israel, as so many people do, with the type of criticism that gives no context of what happened on October 7 and what has triggered it all.
‘As he is such a major public figure, he is lending a lot of fuel to people who have a very different agenda and who really don’t just hate Israel, but also detest Jews.
‘I believe Lineker really cares about issues but I wish he would talk about what is going on in Syria, in Sudan and with women in Afghanistan.’
Glanville was an award-winning football correspondent for The Sunday Times for 30 years and wrote several novels.
Mark’s sister Jo had suggested asking Lineker to speak at a service at St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street (above) as the family knew he had been friends with Glanville since his early days at Leicester
Mark (above) said: ‘I can’t have somebody coming to speak at my Dad’s memorial service who, though not anti-Semitic, is someone who is giving ammunition to people who are anti-Semites’
Lineker shared on Instagram a reel originating from pro-Palestine group Palestine Lobby, in which the graphic of a rat (above) can be seen
The horrors of the Holocaust are said to have deeply affected Glanville throughout his life (Pictured: The football writer in Fulham’s Craven Cottage press box in 2018)
Mark said: ‘We felt that for a man of such stature, Dad deserved a proper memorial service and my sister suggested inviting Gary Lineker to speak, saying that he had really loved Dad’s work.
‘But I said that while this was undoubtedly the case, loads of other people were admirers of Dad’s work as well. I then said there was no way Lineker was coming anywhere near it.
‘She was very understanding as I explained that in my view Lineker was an exceptionally talented footballer and that is where it should have stayed.’ In 2007, recalling his most memorable footballing moments, Glanville cited the 1992 Euros tournament when England manager Graham Taylor ‘inexplicably’ substituted Lineker in a crucial match with Sweden.
‘And England lost,’ added Glanville in his trademark disdain, lamenting Taylor’s foolish decision and supporting Lineker, playing his last match for England.
