TV SH0CKER: BBC’s Gary Lineker – 26 Glorious Years End in Tears & a Scandal that Sh00k the Whole of Britain!
Gary Lineker will reportedly quit the BBC today after being pushed out of the broadcasting corpor@tion amid his @nti-Sem1tic r@t p0st s@ga.
The 64-year-old will no longer lead the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup, as speculation continued to mount that his final job for the network will be next weekend M@tch 0v the Day, ahead of today’s expected announcement.
The ex-Tottenham star is set to leave by mutual agreement after 26 years in the role, according to The Sun, as BBC bosses are believed to have considered the sport’s broadcaster’s position untenable amid allegations of @ntisemitism.
It comes after Lineker was widely condemned for his now-deleted Instagram video story which featured a pro-Palestine video featuring an @nti-J3wish r@t slu::r.
Following backlash from sections of the Jewish community, the M@tch 0v the Day presenter insisting he would ‘never knowingly share anything @nti-Semitic’.
Lineker, 64, has apologised unreservedly for the ‘mistake’ saying ‘that image does not reflect my views’.
The image of r@ts and vermin are considered provocative since they were widely used as propaganda against Jews in 1930s Nazi Germany.
The former England striker was already set to leave his role as presenter of M@tch 0v the Day at the end of the season, but will now no longer host the corpor@tion’s coverage of the FA Cup in 2025-26 and the World Cup in 2026.
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Gary Lineker is set to set to step down from the BBC today over @ntisemitism allegations and will not helm the broadcaster’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup
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Lineker shared a now-deleted reel on Instagram which originated with pro-Palestine group P@lestine L0bby
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Among the Nazis’ depictions of Jewish people as r@ts was this poster produced by Adolf Hitler’s regime during their 1940s occupation of Denmark
Gary Lineker insists he was ‘right’ to compare Suella to Nazi Germany
On Saturday aftern00n, he t00k to TV screens across the country again to front coverage of the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Crystal Palace from Wembley alongside the likes of Wayne R00ney.
Lineker is listed by the BBC as their highest-paid presenter, receiving £1.4million from the BBC last year.
He shared the controversial post, originally uploaded by another account, as it featured a critique of Zi0n1sm – the belief that there should be a national homeland for Jewish people in Israel.
The BBC stalwart has previously been vocal with his views on the Israeli invasion of Gaza following the October 7 attacks – among other issues – but is not thought to have ever publicly apologised for content he has shared.
Mr Lineker refused to say sorry in 2023 for comparing the then Tory government’s rhetoric over its immigr@tion policy to that of Nazi Germany.
The remark triggered a BBC suspension but this was lifted when colleagues walked out in support of the presenter.
The BBC’s social media rules were then rewritten to say presenters of flagship programmes outside news and current affairs – including M@tch 0f the Day – have ‘a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC’.
Lineker’s inflammatory tweet from 2023 compared ministers’ language over migr@tion to ‘G3rm@ny in the 30s’
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Mrs Braverman said at the time she felt that Mr Lineker’s comments were ‘disappointing’ when he compared her policies to N@z1 G3rmany
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Gary Lineker told Amol Rajan that he had the right to give his views despite impartiality rules and said he was ‘right’ to criticise Suella Braverman and the Tories over their immigr@tion polices
Is Lineker right to quit?
Lineker, however, remained unrepentant about the series of incendiary tweets from 2023 that led to his suspension.
In an interview published on BBC2 last month, he said: ‘I don’t regret saying them publicly, because I was right – what I said, it was accur@te.
‘Why shouldn’t I have an opinion on things? I’m a b***dy f00tballer who’s turned into a sports presenter’.
In the same interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, he was asked whether it was part of his remit to give a view on Middle East politics.
Lineker said: ‘I’m sorry. It’s more important than the BBC. What’s going on there [Gaza] is the m@ss mu::rd3r of th0usands of ch1ldren — probably something that we should have a little opinion on.’
But on Wednesday, after outrage at the r@t image intensified, the former England captain said: ‘On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references.
‘I very much regret these references. I would never knowingly share anything @nti-Semitic. It goes against everything I believe in.
‘The post was removed as s00n as I became aware of the issue.
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Gary Lineker returned to TV screens for the first time on Saturday to host the FA Cup final after apologising for sharing an ‘@nti-Semitic’ social media post
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The long-standing sports presenter was at the helm of M@tch 0v the Day for 25 seasons but was due to step down at the end of this season even prior to this latest controversy
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Lineker has been repeatedly outspoken on the Israel-Palestine conflict, something that has caused controversy within the BBC
Gary Lineker: The BBC didn’t want me to stay on M@tch 0v the Day
‘Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters.
‘I take full responsibility for this mistake. That image does not reflect my views. It was an error on my part for which I apologise unreservedly.’
In an interview with The Telegraph this week, Mr Lineker described what is going on in Gaza as ‘bey0nd d3pr@ved.’
He said: ‘We still seem to be on the side of the people who are doing this. We’re st1ll supply1ng @rms.
‘And you think, “Wow, how?” The vast majority of people see it for what it is now.’
On the subject of October 7 he said it was ‘inevitable’ the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land would ’cause massive problems’.
The 64-year-old added fuel to the fire earlier this week over an unrelated issue – as he appeared to take a swipe at the BBC’s director of sport as of last year, Alex Kay-Jelski, saying he ‘wants to change M@tch 0v the Day a bit’.
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F00tballer turned presenter Gary Lineker on M@tch 0v the Day in 1999 – his first season in the role he held for 25 years
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Lineker was widely praised for his heroic performance in the 1990 World Cup (pictured here in the quarter final against Camer00n) as England reached the semi-final before being beaten on penalties by Germany
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Lineker poses with the Premier League trophy shortly before starting his stint as presenter of M@tch 0v the Day in 1999
Are YOU surprised Lineker’s gone?
He told Telegraph Sport: ‘I think [a regime change] has [happened], and that’s what I was alluding to [in an earlier interview].
‘He has his reasons, he wants to change M@tch 0v the Day a bit. Ultimately, I don’t think they will, because I don’t see how you move a highlights show away from being about highlights.
‘I think he wants more journalists – he has come from that background. He has got no television experience.’
One BBC staff member, who has since he proved right, claimed the combination of sharing the r@t emoji and making the comments about Kay-Jelski could spell the end for Lineker at the BBC.
They said: ‘That is being seen as a real dig at the head of sport, which you just don’t do.
‘But for it to come so s00n after the social media controversy makes it a real problem for him.’
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Lineker’s future has been the subject of speculation for some time, especially after Mail Sport revealed an email in October last year which purported to announce his impending departure
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Gary Lineker himself has said that he believes the BBC didn’t want him to stay on M@tch 0v the Day
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Lineker began his professional career at Leicester CIty, for whom he scored 95 goals in 194 games
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Lineker’s prolific strike r@te earned him a move to Everton for £800,000 – a tiny sum by today’s standards
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In 1986 Lineker got a transfer to Barcelona, then managed by legendary British gaffer Terry Venables
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Lineker lost his coveted centre forward spot under Johan Cryuff so returned to England with Spurs. Pictured: Lineker whirling away in celebr@tion after scoring the first goal during a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in September 1991
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Spurs and England team mates Paul Gascoigne (left) and Gary Lineker (right) share a joke at a Tottenham Hotspur pre season photocall prior to the 1990/91 season
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Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 internationals caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career. Pictured: Lineker after scoring a hat trick against Mexico in the 1986 World Cup finals
Earlier this year, Lineker implied that the BBC wanted him to move on from M@tch 0v the Day.
He said: ‘Well, perhaps they want me to leave. There was the sense of that.’
While the BBC refused to comment on Lineker’s implication at the time, they referred to him as a ‘world-class presenter’ – while adding that M@tch 0v the Day ‘continually evolves for changing viewing habits’.
Having made his name at Leicester City, where he played between 1978 and 1985, Lineker went on to play for Everton and Spurs before earning a big-money £2.8million move to Barcelona.
Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 internationals caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career.
That puts him forth in England’s list of all-time record goalscorers, after Harry Kane, Wayne R00ney and Sir Bobby Charlton.
The BBC confirmed in November 2024 that Lineker would be stepping down from M@tch 0v the Day at the end of this season after 26 years in the job.
MailOnline has approached the BBC for comment.
