Gary Lineker will leave the BBC this weekend without a payoff, days after he apologised for amplifying online material with antisemitic connotations.
The presenter, the highest-paid on-air star at the BBC, had been scheduled to present the 2026 World Cup and next season’s FA Cup for the corporation.
However, insiders said his position had become untenable amid continuing anger over the social media post. He will now in effect end his 30-year relationship with the BBC after fronting his last Match of the Day this weekend. It is understood his departure does not include a financial settlement.
The decision to allow him to present the final Match of the Day of the season has also led to criticism, with some industry figures accusing the BBC of allowing him to leave on his own terms, despite admitting a serious error of judgment.
Reports of Lineker’s early departure emerged on Sunday night, a day after he presented the BBC’s FA Cup final coverage. It was confirmed on Monday by Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general. “Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made,” he said. “Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.
“Gary has been a defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades. His passion and knowledge have shaped our sports journalism and earned him the respect of sports fans across the UK and beyond. We want to thank him for the contribution he has made.”
It brings to an end a decades-long relationship with the BBC, in which the corporation developed the former England striker into its leading sports presenter. His final Match of the Day will come 26 years after he took over from Des Lynam.
Last week, the 64-year-old apologised after it emerged he had reposted a pro-Palestine video on Instagram that criticised Zionism and included an illustration of a rat. Lineker has 1.2m followers on the platform.
A rat is an antisemitic trope that was used in Nazi Germany to characterise Jews as vermin. Lineker said in a statement that he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic” and had deleted the post “as soon as I became aware of the issue”.
Yesterday, Lineker acknowledged that the post had “awful connotations”, but said he had not seen the emoji. “I would never consciously repost anything antisemitic – it goes against everything I stand for,” he said. “I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”Davie had been facing calls to sack Lineker, who was paid £1.35m by the BBC last year. The BBC will now begin a new era of coverage without Lineker. He will be replaced on Match of the Day by Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman.
It comes after a tumultuous few years in the relationship between Lineker and the BBC. In March 2023, he was temporarily suspended over comments he made criticising the Conservative government’s asylum policy.
In February this year, he was also among 500 high-profile cultural figures who called on the BBC to rebroadcast a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, calling it an “essential piece of journalism”.
The broadcaster removed the documentary from BBC iPlayer after it emerged that the film’s 14-year-old narrator was the son of a deputy agriculture minister in the territory’s Hamas-run government.
Danny Cohen, the BBC’s former director of television who has been a leading critic of the broadcaster’s handling of the issue, said that it was right that he is leaving. However, he questioned why he was allowed to front one last show.
“He should not be allowed a final swan song this weekend,” he said. “And why the BBC’s statement does not even mention antisemitism is hard to understand.
“If the racist content had been directed at another community I do not believe a presenter would be allowed to carry on for another week. The BBC has a serious and wide-ranging problem with antisemitism. Only much stronger executive leadership can change that.”
Another BBC staffer said: “It seems like BBC bosses have done the bare minimum of damage limitation. As a Jewish member of staff, that feels like a betrayal.”
The producer Leo Pearlman, chief executive of Fulwell Entertainment, also accused the BBC of “weak and ineffectual leadership” and said there was no victory in Lineker leaving “seemingly on his own terms”.
The BBC declined to comment on the criticisms. However, a source said the decision to allow Lineker to present the season’s final Match of the Day recognised the presenter’s long relationship with the corporation. They did not accept that the BBC had a wider problem with antisemitism.
