From presenting in his pants to a pornography prank: Gary Lineker's finest Match of the Day moments

The Guardian

25-05-2025

Regardless of the cloud he's leaving under, Gary Lineker's stint at the BBC has been historic. When he took over Match of the Day from Des Lynam in 1999, the consensus was that he had enormous shoes to fill, and yet he ended up filling them for two-and-a-half times longer than his predecessor. He departs the show as its longest-serving presenter, having managed 26 years, breaking Jimmy Hill's record by 11 years. By Match of the Day's dry standards, it has been a colourful time. Let's look at some of his highlights.
Lineker is said to have pursued Lynam's vacant seat relentlessly, even going to the extent of hiring a vocal coach to help him modulate his voice. And, in retrospect, he didn't seem fully cut out for the job at first. Swamped in a succession of ridiculously baggy, almost Stop Making Sense-esque suits, you could palpably sense just how hard Lineker wanted to emulate his predecessor as he opened his first episode with a 'Did I get the job?' skit. But Lynam's loquaciousness was hard-earned. In time, however, Lineker would refine his presenting style to a high sheen.
Likely the moment he'll be most remembered for, Lineker was forced to strip down to a pair of shorts after making a misjudged prediction about the success of his home team, Leicester City. In December 2015, he tweeted: 'If Leicester win the @premierleague I'll do the first MOTD of next season in just my undies.' They did, and he did, to the obvious delight of Alan Shearer and Ian Wright behind him.
Whisper it, but this was perhaps the most consequential moment of Gary Lineker's entire tenure. When Covid shut down all of football, Lineker decided to start filming from his house, with guests Micah Richards and Alan Shearer. Instead of analysing the day's matches, the spin-off (entitled Match of the Day: Top 10) saw the trio talk more generally about the sport. It was successful enough to spawn a book and, later, Lineker's independently produced The Rest Is Football podcast. Lineker's podcast experiment has been so wildly successful that he quickly stopped being financially reliant on the BBC. If you take a long view, this is the moment he started to edge out of the door.
Having his own empire gave Lineker the confidence to start speaking his mind more regularly. The first case in point was his opening monologue to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, in which he succinctly but pointedly laid out all the human rights abuses that had occurred in the host country, and quickly put FIFA under pressure for allowing it to happen. It made for unexpectedly stirring television.
Less noble was the moment, during an FA Cup match between Wolves and Liverpool, when Lineker's link was interrupted by a series of deafening arduous moans. Rather than panicky, Lineker's response – a smiling apology, and an explanation that 'somebody's sending something on someone's phone, I think' – was immediate and unflappable. Lynam would be proud.
Post-Covid, Lineker's outspokenness grew more pronounced. In 2023, he created a firestorm by comparing the Conservative government's language surrounding asylum seekers to 'that used by Germany in the 30s'. The press were kicked into a frenzy and called for his head. The BBC decided to take him off-air for the next episode. In solidarity, pundits like Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Jermaine Jenas refused to appear on the episode. In the end a weird compromise was struck, with the BBC showing a commentary-free compilation of highlights from that day's matches. For some, it was the best episode in years.
Wright had racked up 27 years as a pundit by the time he left Match of the Day last year, citing the late nights and commute to Manchester. As such, he was given a hero's send-off by the team. A long, loving compilation of his highlights was shown, and he was handed a commemorative cap by Lineker. Wright cried. Lineker cried. Alan Shearer sort of sat there like a robot.
It opened with a montage of his greatest hits as a player. Lineker's first words were 'It wasn't meant to end this way.' But after that, it was business as usual – highlights, analysis, cracks about what a cheapskate Alan Shearer is – until the last 10 minutes. There was a long VT, full of testimonials and old footage of boxy suits, that was so glowing it verged on obituary. Gazza was there. Ian Wright was there. Even Andrea Bocelli was there. When it ended, Lineker sobbed and Alan Shearer sat there like a weird robot. A perfect send-off.