Culture and Media Editor
PA MediaGary Lineker is set to leave the with an announcement expected on Monday.
Speculation is mounting the 64-year-old will step down after he presents his final Match of the Day next weekend.
Lineker, listed as the highest-paid presenter, had been due to remain at the forefront of the ‘s coverage of next season’s FA Cup and the World Cup in 2026, despite previously announcing he will leave Match of the Day at the end of this season.
But last week he had to apologise after sharing a social media post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat, historically used as an antisemitic insult.
Lineker said he very much regretted the references, adding he would never knowingly share anything antisemitic.
Last week, Director General Tim Davie said: “The ‘s reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.”
It is understood that bosses considered Lineker’s position untenable.
The former England striker has attracted criticism before for his posts on social media in the past.
He was temporarily suspended from the in March 2023 after an impartiality row over a post in which he said language used to promote a government asylum policy was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.
The ‘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 ‘s impartiality, because of their profile on the “.
In November 2024, Lineker announced his departure from Match of the Day, but said he would remain with the to front FA Cup and World Cup coverage.
In an interview earlier this year about leaving, Lineker said he believed the wanted him to leave Match of the Day as he was negotiating a new contract last year, saying: “Well, perhaps they want me to leave. There was the sense of that.”
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