A former Premier League manager has accused Gary Lineker of using the Yom Kippur terror attack at a Manchester synagogue last week as a way of ‘causing hate and division’.
Two Jewish men — Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53 — were killed at Heaton Park synagogue last week after Syrian-born terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie rammed a car into the building and stabbed worshippers gathering for a service to mark Yom Kippur.
Three others were also injured and rushed to hospital after attempting to protect worshippers during the attack, barricading the entrance while the attacker reportedly used knives and plant pots to try and get in.
In the aftermath of the attack in northern Manchester, former England international Lineker has shared a series of posts supporting Gaza victims amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Lineker liked and shared one video to his Instagram story of Green Party Leader Zack Polanski accusing people of using the Manchester tragedy as an excuse to stop peaceful protest against Israel’s genocide — warning that this behaviour is ‘problematic’ and ‘inflammatory’.
The ex-England international, who was axed by BBC‘s flagship football show Match of the Day at the end of last season after he shared a social media post about Zionism which included an illustration of a rat, has regularly posted and shared videos condemning the atrocities in Gaza since parting ways with the broadcaster.
A former Premier League manager has accused Gary Lineker (above) of using the Yom Kippur terror attack at a Manchester synagogue last week as a way of ‘causing hate and division’
Lineker was recognised at the Legends of Football event at Grosvenor House on Wednesday
Former Premier League boss Avram Grant sent Lineker a furious message on social media
Lineker, who has since apologised for sharing the post with anti-Semitic connotations, last week claimed his former employers should ‘hold their head in shame’ over their decision to drop a documentary about the plight of medics in Gaza, titled Gaza: Doctors Under Attack.
He also insisted that those at ‘the very top of the BBC’ had been failing over the conflict.
After Lineker was recognised at the Legends of Football event at Grosvenor House on Wednesday night for his services to the game, former Premier League manager Avram Grant, who is of Israeli nationality, furiously accused the 64-year-old of ‘using the attack against innocent Jews to cause hate and division’.
‘Gary Lineker, you’re being honoured with the prestigious Legends of Football award,’ Grant, 70, posted to Instagram on Tuesday.
‘Yet, at a time where we should all be trying to make peace and bring people together, you are still using an attack against innocent Jews to cause hate and division.
‘The situation in Gaza has caused me to have sleepless nights. My heart breaks for this situation. When you talk about this I can understand.
‘Why is it that you are not distressed by what happened on October 7? Why have you shown no sympathy about holocaust survivors being shot and beaten and taken hostage or babies being put in ovens?
‘You don’t feel sorry that the people in Manchester who have gone to pray in synagogue and have caused no harm to anyone get killed and many others wounded for the simple reason they are Jewish?
The ex-Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham United boss, who is of Israeli nationality, also lashed out a Lineker for sharing a post from a pro-Palestinian account last year
Lineker shared a video to his Instagram story of Green Party Leader Zack Polanski accusing people of using the tragedy as an excuse to stop peaceful protest against Israel’s genocide
‘Instead, you have spent three days condemning people who are discussing the Manchester attack saying it shouldn’t detract to what’s going on in Gaza. Why do you use this situation to speak about Gaza?
‘Mr Lineker, these people don’t do anything to anybody. Don’t use the fact that these innocent Jewish people have been attacked to raise your hateful agenda about that situation in Gaza. The two things should not be conflated.
‘You should not accept this award. To be a legend, you need to show a positive example to the next generation. Let’s hope for a lasting peace in the Middle East.’
Grant, who previously managed Chelsea, Portsmouth and West Ham United in the Premier League, also lashed out at Lineker last year for sharing a post from a pro-Palestinian account, accusing him of ‘remaining silent about a massacre where babies were killed and women were raped’.
Gary Neville has also been the subject of controversy since the horrific attack at Heaton Park synagogue last week.
The former England and Manchester United footballer posted a video online claiming that ‘we’re all being turned on each other’ — and accused ‘angry, middle-aged white men’ of dividing the country by displaying Union Jack flags in a ‘negative’ way after the attack.
The video has since prompted widespread backlash, with Neville branded a ‘traitor’ and ‘scum’ by angry protestors and ‘Lineker mark two’ by Reform UK Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
