'Not a nice man' - Former Premier League boss slams 'disrespectful' Gary Lineker and reveals reason for cold relationship with Match of the Day host

The Swindon Town manager and former Premier League boss recounts a series of personal run-ins with the ex-England striker in his recently published memoir, Ian Holloway: The (Mostly) Football World According to Ollie.

According to Holloway, his strained relationship with Lineker may stem from his tenure at Leicester City, where he oversaw a dismal campaign that ultimately saw the club relegated to League One in 2008. Lineker, a club legend and lifelong supporter of Leicester, has allegedly harboured a grudge ever since.

In his book, Holloway writes, “Here’s a cat among the pigeons. Gary’s not a nice man in my experience and maybe it was because of my time at Leicester.”

The 62-year-old claims Lineker treated him with visible disdain during a Match of the Day appearance when he was managing Blackpool.

"While I was at Blackpool, I was invited on Match of the Day but it was obvious Lineker didn’t want me there. He didn’t speak to me once and didn’t even say hello," he recounted. "At the end, I went over and shook his hand and said, 'Hello - maybe you don’t want to speak to me because of my time at Leicester, but hello Gary, how are you?' He said, 'Oh, oh, Ian, it wasn’t like that.' I said, 'Yes you were, mate. I knew you were.'"

Beyond personal grievances, Holloway also uses his book to critique football broadcasting as a whole, particularly the role Lineker and his pundit colleagues play in shaping public opinion about referees.

"Referees get one split-second to make a decision - only one look at it - but all you hear is people saying how s*** they were from watching Match of the Day," he wrote.

"I’m sorry, but Gary Lineker and his little crew are making them look even more s*** because they can look at every incident from every angle. If referees had access to all the camera angles that Lineker and his friends have in a studio, they might get more decisions right. Nobody has any faith in referees because everyone has watched Match of the Day and Lineker and his pundits would slaughter every ref every Saturday night."

The timing of the accusations is particularly significant, as Lineker prepares to step down from his long-standing role as host of Match of the Day this summer. While he is still expected to lead the BBC’s coverage of the upcoming World Cup, recent controversies—including a social media post featuring a rat emoji alongside a pro-Palestinian video—have increased calls for his complete removal from the broadcaster.