In 2015, Gary Lineker was known for two things: football and Walkers Crisps.
In 2016, he has become known for three things: football, Walkers Crisps, and speaking out against some of the vile anti-refugee rhetoric being spewed in the media.
The former England striker has not shied away from issuing blunt condemnations of some of the media coverage against those seeking asylum in this country, and has also called out those outside the media for racist and discriminatory language.
It has earned him unwanted attention from the media organisations he has sought to criticise, but he’s showing no signs of backing down.
Which brings us back to Walkers Crisps.
Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
Lineker has long been an ambassador for the company, which was founded in his hometown of Leicester.
He has appeared on the company’s adverts for more than two decades, and is to all intents and purposes the face of Walkers in the UK.
There’s a small problem, though – Walkers have been advertising in The Sun, and Lineker doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with the paper.
Which is why – as The Guardian reports – the 55-year-old has been speaking to the company about their relationship with the paper, at which he has taken aim in the past.
@walkers_crisps @Tesco @vine already have.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 11, 2016
When asked about Walkers’ response, Lineker urged people to ‘wait and see’.
However, Walkers told The Guardian:
“We have a very successful partnership with Gary Lineker and we will continue to do so. Our advertising approach is not determined by the editorial stances of individual newspapers.”
Lineker has already been receiving plenty of support on Twitter for his pledge.
https://twitter.com/spivo11/status/797103285018722304
https://twitter.com/porees/status/797135718028111873
https://twitter.com/KP82_LFC/status/797055904067780609
YES GARY!! About time people stood up to these vile publications! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 nice one!!
— Bic the Greek 🦘 (@DregsEleven) November 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/ernieball42/status/797166991454900224
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