He was supposed to be presenting next year’s coverage of the World Cup
It’s the end of the road for Gary Lineker at the BBC, with reports suggesting he’ll step down from presenting Match of the Day this weekend.
The British Broadcasting Corporation itself claims an announcement is imminent.
News of Lineker’s early departure – his contract finishes at the end of the current footballing season, although he was slated to host coverage of the 2026 World Cup – comes in the wake of an antisemitism scandal.
Last week, the 64-year-old former Barcelona and England striker shared a Palestine Lobby video on social media titled ‘Zionism explained in two minutes’, but failed to notice an illustration of a rat that has historical connotations linked to Nazi Germany.
After deleting the post, Lineker’s agent said in a statement: “Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”
The BBC’s director general Tim Davie went on to say in response: “The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.”
Lineker previously reflected on his Match of the Day departure during an interview with Amol Rajan.
“It’s time. I’ve done it for a long time, it’s been brilliant,” he said.
“In the end, I think there was a feeling that, because it was a new [broadcasting] rights period, it was a chance to change the programme.
“I think it was their preference that I didn’t do Match of the Day for one more year, so they could bring in new people. So it’s slightly unusual that I would do the FA Cup and the World Cup, but to be honest, it’s a scenario that suits me perfectly.”
