Gary Lineker's football podcast to leave BBC Sounds after social media row
It comes after the corporation announced the player-turned-pundit's early departure from the broadcaster following a social media row after the 64-year-old shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.
After this weekend's Match Of The Day, Lineker, who has issued an unreserved apology, will leave his presenting role at the BBC and will no longer front the corporation's coverage of the 2026 World Cup or the FA Cup next season.
His podcast, The Rest Is Football, which is produced by his company Goalhanger Podcasts, will have its last episode on BBC Sounds this week, but The Rest Is History will continue on BBC Sounds, PA understands.
The podcast, part of Goalhanger's The Rest Is… franchise, is co-hosted by Match Of The Day pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, as well as Lineker, and will remain available on other audio platforms.
In November 2024, BBC Sounds announced a one-year licensing deal for The Rest Is Football and The Rest Is History, with an opportunity to extend.
At the time, it said the podcast episodes would remain available on the audio platform for three years.
Lineker, the BBC's highest-paid presenter, has headed up Match Of The Day since 1999 and announced last year that he would be leaving the programme at the end of the season, but would still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage.
However, in an apology video, he said Sunday will be his last show, adding it is 'best for all concerned that I step down from BBC presenting duties altogether and not do next season's FA Cup or World Cup'.
A post shared by Gary Lineker (@garylineker)
The presenter said he had not seen the emoji of the rat, an animal identified with antisemitic tropes, in the post he shared and added that he stands 'against all forms of racism', including antisemitism, 'which I absolutely abhor'.
On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police said the force will assess whether an investigation is needed following complaints about the post.
In the wake of Lineker's departure, the vice president of the Board Of Deputies Of British Jews, Andrew Gilbert, called on the BBC to implement antisemitism training for all its staff.
Lineker was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government's new asylum policy.
He was also among 500 high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC to rebroadcast a documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone, on BBC iPlayer.
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