Gary Lineker shared a joke to open his final appearance as Match of the Day presenter before the former England, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona striker steps down earlier than planned following the antisemitism row.
Lineker has anchored the BBC’s flagship football programme and worked with the corporation for 26 years.
But before the first highlights of the final day of the Premier League season, with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards alongside the 64-year-old in the studio, Lineker’s message hinted at his controversial and premature departure from the BBC.
“It wasn’t meant to end this way,” Lineker said, in a message open to interpretation after a turbulent few weeks and seemingly at his own expense.
“But with a title race over and the relegation places confirmed, the Champions League was all we had to talk about!”
Lineker was due to leave Match of the Day at the end of the season, but had been slated to continue presenting future coverage for the broadcaster including the men’s World Cup next summer and the next FA Cup.
However, Lineker’s exit was accelerated after a row erupted over him inadvertently sharing a pro-Palestine social media post which featured a picture of a rat, a symbol which has been used in antisemitic propaganda, including by the Nazis.
Lineker apologised for the incident, saying he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic”, but added, “I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”
Lineker’s comments on social media had landed him in hot water before, with BBC bosses concerned his outspoken comments on certain issues, such as Palestine, flouted the corporation’s strict impartiality rules.
The BBC briefly removed Lineker from hosting Match of the Day in March 2023 after he compared the government’s language used in launching an asylum seeker policy to that of 1930s Germany.
