Gary Lineker has ended his long-standing association with the BBC after quitting the corporation on Monday after sharing an anti-Semitic post on social media, with the Match of the Day host leaving the corporation without a payoff.
Lineker was due to leave his role as a presenter with the BBC at the end of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.
However, his time with the broadcaster will now end two years earlier than expected, with Sunday’s season-ending Match of the Day programme being his final BBC appearance.
Lineker said in a statement: ‘Football has been at the heart of my life for as long as I can remember – both on the pitch and in the studio.
‘I care deeply about the game, and about the work I’ve done with the BBC over many years. As I’ve said, I would never consciously repost anything antisemitic – it goes against everything I stand for.
‘However, 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.’
BBC director general Tim Davie agreed it is the right decision.
‘Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made’, he said.
‘Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.’
Gary Lineker has quit the BBC after being caught up in claims of anti-Semitism on social media
Lineker shared a now-deleted reel on Instagram which originated with pro-Palestine group Palestine Lobby
Among the Nazis’ depictions of Jewish people as rats was this poster produced by Adolf Hitler’s regime during their 1940s occupation of Denmark
Lineker also shared a video statement on his Instagram account confirming his early departure.
The Times report that the 64-year-old will leave the corporation without a payoff.
It comes after Lineker was widely condemned for his now-deleted Instagram video story which featured a pro-Palestine video featuring an anti-Jewish rat slur.
Following backlash from sections of the Jewish community, the Match of the Day presenter insisted he would ‘never knowingly share anything anti-Semitic’.
Lineker apologised unreservedly for the ‘mistake’ saying ‘that image does not reflect my views’.
However, BBC bosses were believed to have considered his position as untenable amid allegations of anti-Semitism.
The image of rats and vermin are considered provocative since they were widely used as propaganda against Jews in 1930s Nazi Germany.
Last week, BBC Director General Tim Davie said: ‘The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.’
Last week, BBC Director General Tim Davie said: ‘The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.’
The former England striker was already set to leave his role as presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season, but will now no longer host the corporation’s coverage of the FA Cup in 2025-26 and the World Cup in 2026.
On Saturday afternoon, he took to TV screens across the country again to front coverage of Crystal Palace’s 1-0 FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
Lineker is listed by the BBC as their highest-paid presenter, receiving £1.4million from the BBC last year.
He shared the controversial post, originally uploaded by another account, as it featured a critique of Zionism – the belief that there should be a national homeland for Jewish people in Israel.
The BBC stalwart has previously been vocal with his views on the Israeli invasion of Gaza following the October 7 attacks – among other issues – but is not thought to have ever publicly apologised for content he has shared.
Mr Lineker refused to say sorry in 2023 for comparing the then Tory government’s rhetoric over its immigration policy to that of Nazi Germany.
The remark triggered a BBC suspension but this was lifted when colleagues walked out in support of the presenter.
Lineker’s inflammatory tweet from 2023 compared ministers’ language over migration to ‘Germany in the 30s’
Lineker questioned his boss Alex Kay-Jelski’s experience in TV as he tried to keep his job
Mrs Braverman said at the time she felt that Mr Lineker’s comments were ‘disappointing’ when he compared her policies to Nazi Germany
Gary Lineker told Amol Rajan that he had the right to give his views despite impartiality rules and said he was ‘right’ to criticise Suella Braverman and the Tories over their immigration polices
The BBC’s social media rules were then rewritten to say presenters of flagship programmes outside news and current affairs – including Match of the Day – have ‘a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC’.
Lineker, however, remained unrepentant about the series of incendiary tweets from 2023 that led to his suspension.
In an interview published on BBC2 last month, he said: ‘I don’t regret saying them publicly, because I was right – what I said, it was accurate.
‘Why shouldn’t I have an opinion on things? I’m a b***dy footballer who’s turned into a sports presenter’.
In the same interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, he was asked whether it was part of his remit to give a view on Middle East politics.
Lineker said: ‘I’m sorry. It’s more important than the BBC. What’s going on there [Gaza] is the mass murder of thousands of children – probably something that we should have a little opinion on.’
But on Wednesday, after outrage at the rat image intensified, the former England captain said: ‘On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references.
‘I very much regret these references. I would never knowingly share anything anti-Semitic. It goes against everything I believe in.
‘The post was removed as soon as I became aware of the issue.
Lineker returned to TV screens for the first time on Saturday to host the FA Cup final after apologising for sharing an ‘anti-Semitic’ social media post
The long-standing sports presenter was at the helm of Match of the Day for 25 seasons but was due to step down at the end of this season even prior to this latest controversy
Lineker has been repeatedly outspoken on the Israel-Palestine conflict, something that has caused controversy within the BBC
‘Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters.
‘I take full responsibility for this mistake. That image does not reflect my views. It was an error on my part for which I apologise unreservedly.’
In an interview with The Telegraph this month, Mr Lineker described what is going on in Gaza as ‘beyond depraved.’
He said: ‘We still seem to be on the side of the people who are doing this. We’re still supplying arms.
‘And you think, ‘Wow, how?’ The vast majority of people see it for what it is now.’
On the subject of October 7 he said it was ‘inevitable’ the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land would ’cause massive problems’.
The 64-year-old added fuel to the fire last week over an unrelated issue – as he appeared to take a swipe at the BBC’s director of sport as of last year, Alex Kay-Jelski, saying he ‘wants to change Match of the Day a bit’.
Footballer turned presenter Gary Lineker on Match of the Day in 1999 – his first season in the role he held for 25 campaigns
Lineker was widely praised for his heroic performance in the 1990 World Cup (pictured here in the quarter final against Cameroon) as England reached the semi-final before being beaten on penalties by Germany
Lineker poses with the Premier League trophy shortly before starting his stint as presenter of Match of the Day in 1999
He told Telegraph Sport: ‘I think [a regime change] has [happened], and that’s what I was alluding to [in an earlier interview].
‘He has his reasons, he wants to change Match of the Day a bit. Ultimately, I don’t think they will, because I don’t see how you move a highlights show away from being about highlights.
‘I think he wants more journalists – he has come from that background. He has got no television experience.’
One BBC staff member, who has since he proved right, claimed the combination of sharing the rat emoji and making the comments about Kay-Jelski could spell the end for Lineker at the BBC.
They said: ‘That is being seen as a real dig at the head of sport, which you just don’t do.
‘But for it to come so soon after the social media controversy makes it a real problem for him.’
Lineker’s future has been the subject of speculation for some time, especially after Mail Sport revealed an email in October last year which purported to announce his impending departure
Lineker himself has said that he believes the BBC didn’t want him to stay on Match of the Day
Lineker began his professional career at Leicester, for whom he scored 95 goals in 194 games
After leaving Leicester in 1985, Lineker had spells at Everton and Barcelona
Lineker lost his coveted centre forward spot under Johan Cruyff so returned to England with Spurs. Pictured: Lineker whirling away in celebration after scoring the first goal during a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in September 1991
Spurs and England team-mates Paul Gascoigne (left) and Lineker post for a photo in 1990
Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 internationals caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career. Pictured: Lineker after scoring a hat-trick against Mexico in the 1986 World Cup finals
Earlier this year, Lineker implied that the BBC wanted him to move on from Match of the Day.
He said: ‘Well, perhaps they want me to leave. There was the sense of that.’
While the BBC refused to comment on Lineker’s implication at the time, they referred to him as a ‘world-class presenter’ – while adding that Match of the Day ‘continually evolves for changing viewing habits’.
Having made his name at Leicester City, where he played between 1978 and 1985, Lineker went on to play for Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham before retiring at Nagoya Grampus in Japan.
Lineker made his England debut in 1984, earning 80 internationals caps and scoring 48 goals over an eight-year international career.
That puts him fourth in England’s list of all-time record goalscorers after Harry Kane (71), Wayne Rooney (53) and Sir Bobby Charlton (49).
The BBC confirmed in November 2024 that Lineker would be stepping down from Match of the Day at the end of this season after 26 years in the job.
MailOnline has approached the BBC for comment.
