‘Just go and do one!’ – Ian Holloway snaps at interviewer when giving a response to Swindon Town receiving a charge from the EFL.
He snapped back during a press conference, having been asked repeated questions on the charge, which stems from Swindon fielding two allegedly ineligible players in their recent EFL Trophy win over Luton.
Captain Ollie Clarke, who has been serving a seven-game ban, with Holloway saying protocols had been followed and the EFL portal showed eligibility, calling issues “unfair” and “unjust”.
And substitute Aaron Drinan, who had omitted from the official team sheet due to a clerical error, Holloway described that was a “slight typo” by the club secretary.
Fans on social media couldn’t help but shared just some of Swindon Advertiser‘s updates from the interview, several users’ posts going viral.
Ian Holloway, Ladies and Gentlemen #stfc pic.twitter.com/QawVSHTI3V
— Mr F. Loader (@SN1Insider) January 16, 2026
EFL STATEMENT:
🗣️ “One typo shouldn’t lead to all of this.”
Ian Holloway responds to questions on the EFL charge 📝
Hear his full response, along with the rest of his press conference 👉 https://t.co/Tg7J2ZQghu#STFC #BBCFootball #BBCEFL pic.twitter.com/x2qLRNeWim
— BBC Wiltshire Sport (@BBCWiltsSport) January 16, 2026
Ian Holloway on the EFL Charge:
I’ve got Salford next. Sean, I’ve got Salford next. That’s all that I’m I’m paid to do. As Jack Wilshere said the other night, the people in charge of the competition will have to look at that, and our administration side of things will look at that, and I’m sure we’ll be able to put our side of it, and they’ll make whatever decisions they need to make. As far as I’m concerned, I’m in the next round. Well done to the lads. We played really well, and that’s the way it goes.
On Ollie Clarke:
I’m not sure you should be asking me that again, that’s what I was told: he can play. I believe we’re right, and when it all gets looked at, we are right.
On if it is a distraction:
I think you’re talking nonsense [about us being thrown out], because they’ve never taken anybody who’s got through out of the competition. They’ve always fined them. And there’s been processes put in place to stop these mistakes by the referees. What they should have done at the start of the game, which they didn’t do, and they’ll all find out this, I wasn’t given a chance to look at my team, which I should have been, and they had a copy of it at the end, which they could have easily showed me, but Luton gave it to them at the end, not when I should have been had a chance to. ‘Is that my team’, and the rest of it is all in the rules on the portal. When they’ve looked at it all, there ain’t no they’ve got no case.
From my point of view, that’s not my job. You’re asking me. I’m being brutally honest with you, I’ve got to the quarterfinals of this cup. I’m so proud of my lads, so proud of my team. We beat a very, very good team who started better than us, and we managed to come back through the end of it and score two corners from two corners, which they defended very poorly. And I guarantee you that Jack will be looking at his team’s performance and saying that, as he’s already said, they got complacent. I would have said they weren’t quite good enough, not complacent, on the night to stop us.
But it is what it is, and I’d rather just leave it to them, I’m doing my job. Jack’s got to play Lincoln. We’ve got to play Salford, and that’s what I came in here to talk about. To be honest with you, and Shaun, I’ve been in this game for a long time. Are you telling me we’re the only ones who made any mistakes that night? Are you? Because I can guarantee you we weren’t, I know who else has made them, and I’m going to be fighting tooth and nail from now, because I’m very proud of my lads, and we deserve to be in the next round.
On the charge again:
I think the EFL should be very careful about what they say, because we’ve got proof that we’ve got it right, and they didn’t. And, at the end of the day, I have to trust where we’re going and what we’re doing. And don’t I trust that many people anymore, after what’s happened to Ollie Clark and what’s been said about Ollie Clarke and how they did it. I feel really strongly that right from the off, he should have said, ‘I’m not admitting anything’, because they made him admit something.
I’ve been in this however many years, and I’ve come to a time in my career where I’m not going to have any part of it. I’m ever so sorry. We’re going to do whatever we think is right. We’ve looked at this now, there’s been a word used that we were promised wouldn’t have been used against Ollie, which I think is so unfair, so unjust, and so unprovable. So I’m sick of it, and I’m just going to get on with what I do, which is trying to get my lads to win the next game and then win the next game and then win the next game, and they will be told which game that is. So let them get on with it.
But I can assure our fans, that I think we made one slight typo that should have been sorted out by the processes which weren’t carried out by other people, including Luton. I wasn’t given a printed report of my team to check. Not until after the game were we given that. Yes, very convenient, isn’t it? The referee didn’t have that. He obviously should have checked at halftime. It’s not just a fourth official. So however you go into it, we’ll see that will take care of itself. We just get on the rest of it is drama.
I don’t get caught in drama. What I do is get caught in football, and I’m going to try and get the lads to focus on football, and I’m very proud of their efforts so far. And if you if they’re looking to blame anybody, they should have a damn good look at themselves, the cooperation and coordination between them on a portal. They can’t do that after all these years, I’m sorry. We’re going to try and find that and report that as much as we possibly can, so we have proof of it. So at the end of the day, Shaun, one typo shouldn’t lead to all of this, because there are things in the way, protocols in the way. And there are protocols for what other people who’ve got things wrong. And there’s some major mistakes here, right? And Swindon made one.
On the socials, we put out the right team, right? And unfortunately, Alisha [Henry, Club Secretary] tapped the wrong name in on that one, and I wasn’t given chance to check. The game shouldn’t have gone on, and particularly at halftime. ‘Sorry, you shouldn’t be playing.’ And now they’ve looked up, should Ollie be playing? Well, it’s all on the portal, so we’ve followed that.
On a timeline for a decision:
Shaun, just go and do one mate, you’re asking me however many questions, you said you were going to ask me one question about it. I have no idea. Mate. Okay, so let’s start talking about the game next. Surely that’s important in it, or what are you doing there?
Why are you asking me on that’s not my job, is it? Let’s stick to football, shall we? [You’re the public face, aren’t you?] I’m not a public face. I’m more than a public face. I should have some respect. 1000 games, none of this has ever happened, and you’re not trying to blame us. There you go. And I’m sure my club feels the same way, and I’m sure my fans feel the same way, you know? So let’s just get on with it.
Luton’s Jack Wilshere said: “As I said after the game, I knew that the EFL were going to investigate it.
“Naturally, when something like that happens, we need to trust the EFL.
“It is still in that process, I think that they are probably a little bit further ahead than we were after the game, but it is still the same, and we don’t know what to expect, and we are waiting like everyone else.
“We are aware of the statement, so let’s see what happens.
“[Does that influence your preparation at all?] No, not really. My main thoughts after the game and in the last few games were reflecting on the performance.
“It doesn’t affect how we go forward. We are obviously aware of when that game might be if it is us, and we will deal with that when it comes.”
Here’s how fans reacted after Ian Holloway snaps at the interviewer when giving a response to the EFL charge…
@PhilStaynings: I don’t think Sean Hodges had any ulterior motive with his questions, simply trying to understand next steps. He has been following STFC for decades and is a passionate fan himself. Given the managers ‘experience’ his response to him was poor.
@PnoTuna: Why do bbc wilts have 2 mics? BTW, it’s not often I feel sorry for shaun, but that was a bit unnecessary!
@UnclePablo81: Holloway should be embarrassed by his rant at the journalist. Away take your anger out on someone else.
@robpatterson24: Goes sideways very quickly at 3 minutes in and I love it. It’s prime Ian Holloway. Legend 😂
@StuartKemp525: Brilliant 😂. Still maintain they should go through regardless but this toys out the pram is class.
@9yrspodcast: The final 30 seconds are exactly how I would expect a fully grown adult to behave.
@ollie1885: Didn’t give a shit about any of it but Im begging for us to go through after this 🤣 #ltfc
@FrazerHGTFC: Absolute grade a bellend he has a thing for snapping at bbc interviewers!
@wearelutontown: Becoming quite farcical, whilst we should just let them through. It’s the most entertaining part of the season so far 🍿
@declan_pike: I have to admit, he’s not wrong imo. He isn’t going to know a great deal about the outcome of what the FA/EFL might do to punish us… could argue he could’ve been a smidge more polite but just stick to asking him about football matches and not stuff he can’t control the outcome.
@DeanMcMackin: Fuming isn’t he. On a serious note if he doesn’t want to get involved in off field I respect that but needs to be consistent with it
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