Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker controversially left the BBC last year and made a surprise appearance on ITV’s World Cup coverage.
Gary Lineker made a surprise appearance on ITV’s World Cup coverage and heaped some criticism on the BBC. (Image: ITV Sport)
Gary Lineker gave a candid response to the BBC after appearing on ITV’s World Cup coverage, cheekily telling Micah Richards to “fuck you” after he called him a “traitor”. The former England international, who has worked for the BBC for more than 20 years, made a cameo appearance on the BBC’s arch-rivals ahead of Saturday’s match between Germany and Ivory Coast.
Mr Lineker took just seconds after his controversial departure last year to slam his former employer, claiming ITV was “absolutely brilliant” in contrast to the BBC’s remote setup. The former Match of the Day presenter is following the tournament from New York, where he hosts a daily edition of The Rest Is Football on Netflix.
Lineker initially intended to continue working on the BBC’s World Cup production after leaving Match of the Day, but it was revealed in May last year that he would be severing all ties with the BBC. As ITV began broadcasting live on Saturday night, Lineker said: “Thank you for joining ITV for this one time, another day, another game, another channel.”
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Presenter Laura Woods then interrupted: “Wow, wow, wow, Gary, that’s my job,” to which Lineker responded: “Sorry, sorry, old habits, Laura. Old habits.”
Despite being brief, the ITV appearance attracted a lot of attention from viewers who loved seeing Mr Lineker back on their TV screens discussing football. Now, Lineker and Mika Richards downplayed his appearance as an ITV pundit on their own Netflix show.
Richards introduced the podcast, mimicking Lineker’s appearance on ITV, saying: “Hello and welcome to Rest is Football, this is Micah Richards.”
Gary Lineker quickly disappeared from his World Cup ITV cameo (Image: ITV)
Lineker quickly interrupted his other co-hosts and said, “Wow, wow, wow, wow. Mika, that’s my job,” followed by laughter from both.
“It’s not good, is it?” Mr. Richards said, appearing on a television monitor. “You are an absolute traitor. You have given 26 years of blood, sweat and tears to the BBC and now you are going to your rival.”
Lineker responded, “Hold on, Micah.[Before turning off the television that Richards was on]Shut up. I’m going to do it right now.”
When Richards returned to the show, he asked Lineker what he was doing on ITV. The former England striker explained with a wry smile, “I appeared on the show to promote my program “The Box,” which will also be aired on ITV in September.
“Also, I wanted to go and see some studios. I also wanted to go and promote the Netflix show you mentioned twice. That was purely for professional reasons, Mika.”
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That was not the case with Richards. He said, “Professional reasons? Come on, Gaz. You’re better than that.”
“That’s what someone who works for almost every television channel known to man said,” Lineker jokingly retorted.
The two continued their lighthearted banter, with Lineker blogging from behind the scenes. During the segment, he said, “What you read isn’t necessarily true. I watch Netflix shows every day, so I’m not a pundit for the entire tournament.”
There have been several exposés targeting the BBC, with Lineker claiming he can “verify authenticity” before receiving a head massage “which you can’t get on the BBC”.
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