Gary Lineker has admitted that he doesn’t miss working at the BBC ‘at all’ and is relishing not ‘having to tread on eggshells’ at the broadcaster.
It has been over a year since Lineker left the BBC, where he had worked as a presenter for 26 years, after he posted on Instagram about Zionism featuring a rat that ignited an antisemitism row.
The 65-year-old, whose main role was to lead Match of the Day and major tournament coverage, apologised at the time and admitted his departure was ‘the responsible course of action’, leaving the corporation without a payoff from his £1.3million-a-year salary.
Over 12 months on from his exit, Lineker has opened up about his new life and career away from the BBC.
‘I love the BBC, I always will. I have a huge amount of respect for it,’ said Lineker. ‘It turns out some incredible television and I think we did in sport.
‘But I’m enjoying life without having to tread on eggshells and everything’s going really well. So no, I don’t miss it at all.
Gary Lineker left his job at the BBC after 25 years last May and has said he does not miss it
‘I think I’d had my time. It was like a wonderful marriage that kind of petered out a bit at the end.’
Lineker had been the face of the BBC’s coverage for much of the nearly three decades he worked at the broadcaster, covering multiple World Cups and European Championships.
However, as the corporation evolved over the years, with social media usage guidelines for employees changing in 2023, Lineker began to feel his ‘freedom of speech’ was shackled.
‘It had become quite difficult,’ he told the Radio Times. ‘It was always fine for anyone outside of news and current affairs to have an opinion on other things in the world and then suddenly it wasn’t.
‘They moved the goalposts, changed the guidelines and it became tricky because I’ve always cared about humanitarian issues, I don’t think they’re ever really political ones.
‘Suddenly, they didn’t want you doing this or that, and [my departure] became inevitable because I have to live with myself.’
Lineker also recently took a swipe at the BBC’s proposed coverage of the World Cup this summer, with the broadcaster opting to direct operations from their HQ in Greater Manchester rather than the US.
They are not planning to send television pundits to North America for the World Cup until the quarter-final stage in a bid to cut costs.
Lineker was initially meant to front their coverage of the tournament before his earlier-than-planned exit, but he will instead host The Rest is Football podcast, which has been bought by Netflix for £14million.
He will be in New York with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards throughout the tournament this summer.
Lineker will host host The Rest is Football podcast, which has been bought by Netflix, during the World Cup with Micah Richards (left) and Alan Shearer (right)
Speaking at the launch of Netflix’s Sports Club in April, he said: ‘I was originally going to do it for the BBC this summer, but that didn’t transpire and I would have been in Salford in a green box and now I’m going to be in New York City overlooking Times Square with lots of great guests.’
He added: ‘With us — Alan, Micah and myself — we are also fans and we will all be cheering England, but sometimes when you care that much you are probably more critical of your own team than anybody else.
‘There was a bit of furore during the Euros when I said, “England played s***”. And they did. If I said England had played really poorly it wouldn’t have made headlines. I only said it because I cared because it was excruciating and England got lucky with their goal.
‘You have to tell it as it is and we continue to do that, and hopefully I won’t have to say anything like that.’
