An announcement on Gary Lineker’s departure from the BBC is anticipated on Monday. After presenting his final Match of the Day next weekend, there is growing speculation that the 64-year-old may step down.
Despite previously saying that he would be leaving Match of the Day at the end of this season, Lineker, who is classified as the highest-paid BBC broadcaster, was expected to continue to lead the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup next season and the World Cup in 2026.
However, he was forced to issue an apology last week after posting a social media post regarding Zionism that featured an image of a rat, which is commonly used as an antisemitic slur.
Lineker expressed his profound apologies for the allusions, stated he would never intentionally spread antisemitic content, and that he had removed the post after discovering the image’s meaning.
“Everyone holds the BBC’s reputation, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us,” BBC Director General Tim Davie stated last week. It is known that BBC executives deemed Lineker’s position unsustainable. The former England striker has previously drawn flak for his social media statements.
In March 2023, a post he made claiming that rhetoric used to support a government asylum program was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s” led to a temporary suspension from the BBC due to an impartiality dispute.
Presenters of flagship shows outside of news and current affairs, such as Match of the Day, have “a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC,” according to a revision of the BBC’s social media guidelines.
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