Gary Lineker leaves the BBC amid controversy over a publication deemed anti-Semitic.
The former player is advancing his departure from the British corporation after 26 years of being one of the highest-paid stars.
BarcelonaAs a player, he never received a yellow or red card, but the BBC has shown Gary Lineker the definitive card. The long-time host of the British program Match of the day Gary Lineker has announced his departure from the BBC following a social media post in which he criticized Israel with an image considered an anti-Semitic cliché (which he claims he was unaware of). Although Lineker had already planned to retire next year, the incident has accelerated the process, and his last program is expected to be this Sunday, May 25, concluding a 26-year career with the English public broadcaster. This decision also means that he will not present coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as initially planned.
Lineker was one of the most prominent strikers in English football in the 1980s for teams such as Leicester City, Everton, and Tottenham, and also played for FC Barcelona. After retiring as a player, he became a sports commentator. Since 1999, he has been the presenter of Match of the Day and one of the BBC's most recognizable (and highest-paid) faces.
The commentator shared a statement from a Palestinian group in an Instagram story criticizing the situation in Gaza, but accompanied the video with a mouse emoji. This animal is an antisemitic trope used by Nazi Germany to dehumanize Jews. After receiving criticism, Lineker deleted the post and apologized, stating that he would never have intentionally shared antisemitic content. This is not the first time the commentator has received criticism for sharing an opinion; in March 2023, the former Barcelona player was temporarily suspended for comments critical of the British government's asylum policy, which led to a walkout of support from other BBC presenters. The iconic presenter now has replacements: the BBC has announced that the presenters of Match of the Day will be Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman, familiar faces from the show. This new setup seeks a smooth transition after the presenter's departure.
The NGO Campaign Against Antisemitism has posted on social media: "After a week of public outcry and more than 10,000 signatures on our petition in just a few days calling for the BBC to part ways with Gary Lineker, he' "(Lineker) has become a symbol of the rot at the heart of our national broadcaster: a man who repeatedly indulged in breaching the BBC's own rules on impartiality by abusing his position to promote his increasingly propagandistic policies, vilify those he disagrees with and even self-promote his message."
BBC Director General Tim Davie said: "I believe we need staff to exemplify the BBC's values and follow our social media policy. "It's that simple." Davie had been fielding calls all last week to sack Lineker, who had become a controversial figure and a frequent target of criticism from Britain's conservative circles. "The BBC's reputation belongs to everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us dearly," he added.
In early 2025, Lineker signed an open letter along with other media figures calling on the BBC to reinstate the documentary. Gaza: How to survive in war zoneThe documentary, which depicted the lives of children in Gaza, was removed from the platform. BBC iPlayer after it was discovered that the narrator was the son of a Hamas government official. The signatories of the letter defended the documentary's importance as an "essential piece of journalism" and criticized the BBC's decision to withdraw it.
