Former England soccer captain Gary Lineker will go away the BBC on the finish of the season, it was introduced on Monday, days after he shared a social media submit that contained antisemitic imagery.
The company’s highest-paid presenter had been attributable to entrance protection of the 2026 World Cup and subsequent season’s FA Cup.
However this Sunday’s Match of the Day, on the final day of the Premier League season, shall be his closing present.
“Gary Lineker will go away his presenting function following the conclusion of Match of the Day for the 2024/25 season,” the BBC mentioned in an announcement.
“He is not going to be a part of the BBC’s protection of the 2026 World Cup or subsequent season’s FA Cup protection.”
Final week Lineker shared an Instagram story about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat, traditionally used as an antisemitic insult.
He eliminated the submit and apologised unreservedly, saying he would “by no means knowingly share something antisemitic”.
In a contemporary assertion on Monday, Lineker restated that he didn’t know concerning the submit’s antisemitic connotations.
“I recognise the error and upset that I precipitated, and reiterate how sorry I’m,” he mentioned. “Stepping again now feels just like the accountable plan of action.”
He added: “Soccer has been on the coronary heart of my life for so long as I can bear in mind — each on the pitch and within the studio.
“I care deeply concerning the sport, and concerning the work I’ve performed with the BBC over a few years. As I’ve mentioned, I’d by no means consciously repost something antisemitic — it goes towards the whole lot I stand for.”
– ‘Defining voice’ –
Tim Davie, BBC director-general, mentioned: “Gary has acknowledged the error he made. Accordingly, we now have agreed he’ll step again from additional presenting after this season.”
Davie outlined Lineker as a “defining voice in soccer protection for the BBC for over twenty years,” thanking him for his contribution.
Lineker had already deliberate to finish his 26-year keep as host of common Premier League highlights programme Match of the Day on the finish of the season.
The 64-year-old earned £1.35 million ($1.8 million) a 12 months from the publicly funded broadcaster and he was one in all their most recognisable faces.
However his outspoken views on social media have beforehand precipitated complications for BBC bosses as a result of company’s guidelines on impartiality.
In March 2023, Lineker was briefly taken off air after evaluating the language used to launch a British authorities asylum coverage to the rhetoric of Nazi-era Germany.
Lineker was reinstated simply over every week later — after a revolt by a number of of his colleagues in solidarity — however the BBC launched an unbiased assessment of its social media tips because of the incident.
He was additionally amongst 500 different high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC to rebroadcast a documentary, Gaza: “How To Survive A Warzone,” to BBC iPlayer.
Earlier than changing into a significant determine within the British media business, Lineker was a worldwide soccer star, profitable the World Cup Golden Boot for England in 1986.
After a taking part in profession at Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham and Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight, he retired in 1994.
Lineker grew to become a pundit for the BBC earlier than taking on because the lead presenter for its soccer protection in 1999.
The previous England striker is the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the favored The Relaxation Is Historical past collection and varied spin-offs.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)