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Gary Lineker set to quit BBC following antisemitism row and will not host 2026 World Cup coverage

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Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker will reportedly leave the broadcaster following next weekend's final show of the season

Gary Lineker presents Match of the Day from Leicester's King Power Stadium in 2021.
Gary Lineker was due to present the BBC's coverage of next summer's World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

Gary Lineker has reportedly quit the BBC following a social media row that saw him apologise for sharing a post about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that contained antisemitic connotations.

Lineker’s tenure as Match of the Day host was set to end next weekend at the conclusion of the 2024/25 Premier League season, with the 64-year-old set to stay on with the broadcaster to host their FA Cup and World Cup coverage next season.

But Lineker is now expected to confirm his departure from the broadcaster on Monday ‘by mutual agreement’, following this latest social media controversy.

Gary Lineker set to bring forward BBC exit

Gary Lineker presents next to the FA Cup Gary Linekr presents alongside the FA Cup for Manchester City's semi-final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in April 2022.

Lineker presented the BBC's coverage of the FA Cup final this weekend (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lineker apologised last week after reposting a pro-Palestine video on social media that included an illustration of a rat, with The Sun reporting that the former England international acknowledged that his position was ‘untenable’.

This means that Lineker’s 25-year Match of the Day stint will come to an end on Sunday.

Gary Lineker

As a player, Lineker scored 48 goals for England (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lineker took over from Des Lynam in 1999, following a playing career that saw him turn out for the likes of Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham. Lineker scored 48 goals for England and was ranked at no.10 in FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest England players of all-time.

Lineker last week issued an apology for sharing the pro-Palestine video on his Instagram account.

"On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references,” he said in a statement. “I very much regret these references. I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in.

"The post was removed as soon as I became aware of the issue. Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters.

Gary Lineker, September 2023

Lineker also presents the succesful 'The Rest is Football' podcast (Image credit: Getty Images)

"I take full responsibility for this mistake. That image does not reflect my views. It was an error on my part for which I apologise unreservedly."

This latest row came after Lineker was briefly suspended from MOTD in March 2023 over a Twitter post criticising the then-Conservative government’s asylum policy, which resulted in an outpouring of support from Lineker’s colleagues meaning that weekend’s edition of Match of the Day was broadcast with no commentary and no studio presentation.

The BBC confirmed earlier this year that Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates will replace Lineker as co-hosts for Match of the Day next season.

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.