Gary Lineker admitted that the BBC was told to leave after sharing a ProPalestinian video on social media. The post, accompanied by rat emojis, sparked widespread repulsion, calling for bees to plunder to instantly plunder the 64-year-old.
In May it was confirmed that he would leave the company at the end of the 2024/25 football season. By then, it had already been announced that England’s striker would be replacing him as the main presenter for the day’s match. However, he was expected to continue the BBC for another 12 months, with the hopes of assuming coverage of the 2026 World Cup.
Lineker apologised for his actions, implying initially that he had decided to run away on his own. He said, “It feels like a responsible course of action to come back now.”
But he now offers a different version. In an interview with the new world, he was asked if he had quit himself or been told to go, and he answered the “later” honestly.
However, the former England striker, who won the golden boots at the 1986 World Cup, claimed that the social media post was a real mistake, saying he was unaware of the emojis. Asked about the image of a rat, he said: “I missed it. To be honest, I wouldn’t have understood the meaning anyway until it was pointed out to me.
“I really didn’t see it. I’m not an idiot. I might not have known it was anti-Semitism plunder, but I wondered why someone put a rat there. Why do you confuse rodents with humans?”
Accepting that the ordeal was sacrificed, he added: “I don’t do that on purpose, it’s the biggest self-harm I’ve ever done.
Before his departure, Linker was the BBC’s most earned presenter, earning a salary of £1.35 million per year. He has been the main presenter of MOTD since 1999, and replaced Des Lynham after clearly joining Shiow as a critic.
