Days after he uploaded a social media post with anti-Semitic images, it was announced on Monday that former England football captain Gary Lineker will be leaving the BBC at the end of the season.
“After Match of the Day’s 2024–2025 season concludes, Gary Lineker will step down as presenter,” the BBC announced in a statement.
“He will not be featured on the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup next season or the 2026 World Cup.”
In an apology last week, Lineker said, “I take full responsibility for this mistake,” after publishing an Instagram story about Zionism that he later deleted and included a photo of a rat. My opinions are not reflected in that image.
“Football has been at the center of my life for as long as I can remember — both on the field and in the studio,” Lineker said in a new statement released Monday.
“The game and the work I’ve done with the BBC over the years are very important to me. As previously stated, I would never intentionally repost anything antisemitic because it contradicts my values.
But I acknowledge my mistake and the pain I caused, and I want to express my regret once more. Now, taking a step back seems like the appropriate thing to do.
The director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie, stated: “Gary has admitted his error. As a result, we have decided that he will stop presenting after this season.
Lineker was a “defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades,” according to Davie.
Lineker, 64, had already planned to end his 26-year stay as host of popular Premier League highlights programme Match of the Day at the end of the season.
However, he had been due to lead the BBC’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup and FA Cup next season.
Instead, Sunday’s Match of the Day following the final round of Premier League fixtures will be his final show.
Lineker was the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, earning £1.35 million ($1.8 million) a year from the publicly funded broadcaster.
His outspoken views on social media have caused headaches for BBC bosses due to the corporation’s rules on impartiality.
After equating the language used to introduce a British government asylum program with Nazi-era German rhetoric, Lineker was momentarily removed from the air in March 2023.
After several of his coworkers revolted in support of him, Lineker was reinstated a little more than a week later. However, the event prompted the BBC to conduct an independent review of its social media policies.
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