Gary Lineker: I thought antisemitism apology would be enough for BBC

Times

6 days ago

Gary Lineker has admitted that he thought his apology should have been enough to save his job at the BBC after he reposted an antisemitic social media post.
In his first interview since leaving the broadcaster, Lineker agreed that he left the corporation in a case of 'quit or be quitted' after he 'mistakenly' shared the post.
The former Match of the Day presenter, who was the highest paid presenter at the BBC on £1.35 million, said he had not noticed the depiction of the rat, an antisemitic trope, in the post criticising Israel's war in Gaza.
In an interview with The New World, formerly The New European, Lineker said: 'I made a mistake and I immediately took it [the social media post] down and apologised, which I thought should have been enough.'
The former England striker, who hosted the popular Saturday night programme for 26 years before he left in May, said that he believed he had complied with the BBC's impartiality rules as he had looked at the war in Gaza 'without a vested interest'.
'I've got no skin in the game. I'm not Muslim, I'm not Palestinian, I'm not Israeli, I'm not Jewish. I come from a place of complete impartiality. And then it becomes about truth,' he said.
'People talked about me being antisemitic. I'm not anti-any group of people. Any race, any colour. But I am anti the killing of children.'
It was initially believed that Lineker — who said he had a good relationship with Tim Davie, the BBC's director-general — quit the highlights show voluntarily. But in the interview, the former host said he had no choice but to leave the BBC.
When asked if he had quit or if he was sacked, Lineker said: 'The latter.' Linker had hoped to stay at the national broadcaster until next year's World Cup, but BBC bosses decided to end his tenure early.
Lineker, who is now focusing on his successful podcast company, Goalhanger, which produces The Rest is Politics and The Rest is Football, said he had not noticed the rat emoji on the bottom of the social media post before he reposted it to his 8.7 million followers.
The rat accompanied footage of a Canadian-Palestinian lawyer attacking the war in Gaza with the caption: 'Zionism explained in two minutes'.
'I missed it [the rat emoji]. I genuinely didn't see it,' he said. 'I'm not an idiot. I may not have known it was an antisemitic trope, but I would have wondered why someone had put a rat there. I wouldn't do that on purpose — it would be the biggest act of self-harm ever. It was a tough couple of days.'
Lineker had hoped to finish his BBC career with an interview with the Liverpool striker Mo Salah, but BBC bosses pulled the broadcast.
The former Leicester City and Barcelona star had been in the crosshairs of BBC bosses for several years for his outspoken views on several issues, including the war in Gaza and immigration.
In March 2023, Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC over comments he made criticising the then-Tory government's new asylum policy.
He was also among 500 high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC to reinstate a documentary on Gaza on BBC iPlayer.