Piers Morgan defends Gary Lineker: 'I know he's not antisemitic'

Middle East Eye

21-05-2025

Piers Morgan has posed for a photo with former BBC presenter Gary Lineker and defended him against claims of antisemitism after the public broadcaster's former star left without a payoff last weekend.
Lineker previously presented the BBC's Match of the Day and was the broadcaster's highest-paid on-air employee.
He has been repeatedly attacked by pro-Israel commentators and organisations for his vocal opposition to Israel's war on Gaza over the past two years.
Lineker left the BBC over the weekend after apologising for reposting a pro-Palestinian video on Instagram that attacked Zionism and included an illustration of a rat.
In certain contexts, a rat is an antisemitic trope, as Jews were often characterised as rats in Nazi Germany.
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It is also used as an insult more broadly, and it is not clear whether there was antisemitic intent behind the original post.
Lineker apologised, saying he would "never knowingly share anything antisemitic" and had not seen the emoji in the post.
"Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action," he said.
'I know he isn't antisemitic'
On Tuesday, prominent journalist Piers Morgan posted a photo on social media platform X of himself with an apron-clad Linkeker in a kitchen.
"Delighted to announce that I've hired a new personal cook," Morgan said in the post. "Welcome, Chef Gaz".
Delighted to announce that I've hired a new personal cook. Welcome, Chef Gaz ⁦@GaryLineker⁩ - I've heard great things about what a decent, loyal, talented, entertaining bloke you are…just no social media posting while you're in the kitchen please. pic.twitter.com/kRp9itAtPl — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 20, 2025
"I've heard great things about what a decent, loyal, talented, entertaining bloke you are…just no social media posting while you're in the kitchen please," he added.
The post amassed thousands of likes, but Morgan was also attacked.
One X account called "Kosher", which has over 100,000 followers, said: "Oh okay, just hanging out with a man that shares videos comparing Jews to rats."
Morgan hit back, defending Lineker: "It was a mistake. You know that, I know that, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is pathetically disingenuous," he said in a post.
"And I'll hang out with Gary whenever he likes because he's been a good mate to me, and I know he isn't anti-Semitic."
It was a mistake. You know that, I know that, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is pathetically disingenuous.
And I'll hang out with Gary whenever he likes because he's been a good mate to me, and I know he isn't anti-Semitic. https://t.co/VKfxWQPfO1 — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 20, 2025
In the past year, Lineker has often criticised the BBC over its position on Gaza.
In April, he defended the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which the BBC pulled from its streaming platform, iPlayer, after an intense campaign by pro-Israel groups.
He accused the broadcaster of yielding to external pressure: "I think [the BBC] just capitulated to lobbying that they get a lot."
Lineker has also been attacked several times in the past two years for expressing pro-Palestinian views. In November 2023, he was widely criticised for sharing a clip of an Israeli-American historian, Raz Segal, saying that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.
Lineker recently said about Israel's assault on Gaza: "It's the worst thing I have seen in my lifetime. Constant images day in, day out of children losing their lives. But the minute you raise your voice against it you get accused of being a supporter of Hamas."
He added that "there's a lot of heavy lobbying on people to be quiet".
Journalist Owen Jones wrote earlier this week that he believed Lineker was "forced out of the BBC", adding: "Nobody for even one second believes Gary Lineker has even a particle of antisemitism in him".
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Morgan, one of Britain's most prominent journalists, regularly hosts debates on Israel's war on Gaza on his YouTube channel.
He has often been thought to take a pro-Israel stance, but in recent months has become increasingly critical of Israel's actions in Gaza.
Earlier this month, Morgan said: "Israel has long since crossed the line of 'proportionate response' to October 7 and is now engaged in deliberately starving Gazan civilians, relentlessly attacking civilian areas including hospitals, and then lying about it. It's shameful and it has to stop."
This week, he accused Israel of "outrageous censorship" for banning international media from entering Gaza, adding that it was "deeply suspicious".
On Tuesday, he said on X: "I'm pro-Jew, pro-Muslim, anti Hamas, and anti the current Israeli [government] war strategy."
He also accused Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of being a "genocidal maniac" after Smotrich said that "we are annihilating everything that remains in the [Gaza] Strip" and endorsed the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.
Morgan said the Israeli government was "taken over by headbangers like him and Netanyahu is just letting them do what they want. Who will stop them?"