Conor McGregor has grabbed the headlines once again after footage appeared to show the UFC star punch someone inside an Ibiza nightclub earlier this week
Club mogul Wayne Lineker has hit out at Conor McGregor after his “close friend” was allegedly punched twice by the UFC star.
On Tuesday morning, footage emerged of former dual-weight UFC champion McGregor appearing to throw punches inside an Ibiza nightclub. The incident is alleged to have taken place at the Pacha nightclub. Just days on from the violent clash, Lineker has revealed it was his close friend who was hit twice by the Irishman.
In a quickly-deleted Instagram post by Lineker, the 63-year-old said he was “disappointed” with McGregor for attacking his employee. The ‘Notorious’ was seen partying in Lineker’s Ocean Beach club earlier in the night before moving to the VIP section of Pacha.
“Thought about this post a lot,” Lineker’s post began. “This is my very close friend who has worked at Ocean for eight years, he has the most special heart and in all of the years that I’ve known him he has never raised his voice once. He took two punches from Conor McGregor in Pacha for absolutely no reason.
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“He took the punches like a champion. I’ve since deleted my post of Conor at Ocean on Sunday. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement. We at Ocean Beach Ibiza will always put our family first #wearefamily.” One of the victim’s friends – who was clubbing during the altercation – told The Sun : “He has worked with Wayne for a long time and Wayne is very loyal to his staff.
“Conor had a great deal at Ocean – he got a table and drinks for free. Now that benefit may well be taken away. If you were around Conor in the club and you took your phone out, you’d be told to put it away. I don’t know how (the victim) got that close to begin with. He’s not said anything about pressing charges or making a formal complaint to the police. He had some time off booked after the incident anyway, but Wayne has been very good at handling it. He’s fine and there was no injury from the punches. It was obviously a shock, and he feels he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Mirror Sport has approached McGregor’s representatives for comment. Earlier in the evening, McGregor was seen on the party island with TV personality Katie Price. Taking to Instagram, the 36-year-old was seen puffing on a cigar while wearing red shorts, a sun hat and sunglasses while playing up to the crowd. Price reshared the story to her own social media page with the caption: “You legend.”
During the chaotic scenes at the Pacha nightclub, footage appears to show McGregor’s first punch failing to connect cleanly before the UFC star appears to strike the individual again with his left hand. Witnesses have since recalled the heated physical exchange. “Clearly something’s been said to annoy him and he’s reacted very badly. The guy seemed to fall to the floor, and his mates came to pick him up and get him away,” one reveller told The Sun. “There [didn’t appear to be any] consequences for Conor, but the guy he punched was taken away, and I didn’t see him again.”
Another said: “Someone came up to them and when Conor hit him, about five people fell to the floor as the guy stumbled back. It was a bit like bowling pins, but the guy was really shaken by the hits. About a minute later, the bouncers came and got him on the back and took him out of the club, because he had annoyed Conor. It was right before close anyway. There was no messing around; they just removed him. Conor left through the garden a bit later; he didn’t look very happy that they got into a fight.”