Gary Lineker shows Palestine support just hours after leaving BBC

Telegraph

26-05-2025

Gary Lineker embraced his first day of post-BBC freedom by defiantly sharing a poem of support for Palestine which includes a George Orwell quotation.
Lineker shared a verse by Nikita Gill, who had been expressing heartbreak for paediatrician Alaa al Najjar after her nine children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Just hours after leaving the Match of the Day studios for the last time, Lineker shared Gill's poem on his Instagram story between tributes after his BBC goodbye.
The verse shared by Lineker said: 'A mother on duty caring for her patients receives the remains of nine of her children. We are told to ignore this.
'A child who can barely walk struggles to find safety through flames in the aftermath of a bomb, unable to breathe. We are told to ignore this.'
It then ends with a quote from Orwell which says: 'The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.'
The verse ends with: 'We must refuse to abdicate our duty to each other and see the truth for what is before us.'
Lineker had been left wiping away tears on Sunday night after a star-studded montage paid tribute to his 26 years as Match of the Day's anchor. He explained on his Rest is Football podcast, however, that it was the sight of his sons talking about him on the video that had left him weeping.
'Thankfully, that wasn't the last clip, because I'd gone at that point,' he explained. 'I needed time to to get myself together, to try and get through the the end of the show.'
Lineker will lose out on an estimated £800,000 after being forced to leave without a pay-off. Sources close to the corporation say the decision to drop him was made primarily by BBC chiefs who had run out of patience with his outspoken political views.
During his emotional goodbye on Sunday, Lineker said the show is now 'in the best of hands' as Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman replace him next season.
Pep Guardiola, Virgil Van Dyke, Paul Gascoigne, Peter Shilton and Alan Hansen joined the likes of Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on a special montage celebrating his career on the show.
Lineker, who was handed a cap and a golden boot as goodbye gifts, composed himself to make a typically wry summary of his stint as the BBC's top sports anchor. 'Rather like my football career, everyone else did all the hard work, and I got the plaudits,' he said as he signed off.
He added: 'It's been an absolute privilege to have hosted Match of the Day for a quarter of a century. It's been utterly joyous. I'd like to wish Gabby, Mark and Kelly all the very best when they sit in this chair. The programme is in the best of hands.'
Gary Lineker says goodbye to #MOTD after 25 years. pic.twitter.com/u1DORcO6Po
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) May 25, 2025
Claudio Ranieri, Guy Mowbray, Alan Smith and Ian Wright also appeared on a special video paying tribute to Lineker's career. Opening credits had also been adapted with some of Lineker's most famous goal-scoring moments.
Lineker had opened his last show with a wry remark about the furore surrounding him in recent weeks. 'It wasn't meant to end this way,' he said, before adding 'but with the title race over and the relegation places confirmed, the Champions League was all we had left to talk about.'
Lineker's final show had remained a significant point of contention behind the scenes in recent days but the programme has a history of paying tribute to departing stars. There were emotional send-offs for Alan Hansen while Ian Wright was presented with a cap during his final appearance last year. For Lineker, however, tribute planning was not straightforward.
A host of Jewish members of BBC staff and television executives elsewhere have spoken of their anger that he was granted a chance to say goodbye after sharing a social-media post featuring anti-Semitic imagery. Leo Pearlman, chief executive at Fulwell Entertainment, and Danny Cohen, former director of BBC Television, have said Lineker does not deserve a 'swansong'.
The latest controversy was set in motion a fortnight ago when the Match of the Day presenter used Instagram to promote a pro-Palestinian video featuring a rat emoji – an icon used by the Nazis as a slur against Jewish people.
Lineker apologised and removed the video but calls to remove him from the BBC grew louder when Telegraph Sport published an explosive interview with Lineker in which he went further than ever in his comments about Israel and also criticised his boss at the BBC.
It was confirmed at noon last Monday that this Sunday's Match of the Day would be Lineker's last BBC outing. Lineker, who has hosted Match of the Day since 1999, issued an unreserved apology for the 'hurt and upset caused' by the video, stating it was a 'genuine mistake'.