The BBC confirms Gary Lineker will leave his presenting roles sooner than planned His departure comes after he shared an Instagram post about Zionism that included a drawing of a rat, historically used as an antisemitic insult In a new statement,

This isn’t Lineker’s first controversy. In 2023, the BBC said it had had a ‘frank conversation'” with the star after he criticized the government’s asylum policy, comparing the language to “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.”

Forty summers after Gary Lineker had become a national goalscoring hero with England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, the 2026 finals in the same country — as well as co-hosts the U.S. and Canada — were to be his farewell to the BBC.

Gary Lineker will leave his presenting role following the conclusion of Match of the Day for the 2024/25 season. He will not be part of the BBC’s coverage of the 2026 World Cup or next season’s FA Cup coverage. Tim Davie, BBC Director-General, said:

Por STEVE DOUGLASGary Lineker, el astro del fútbol inglés que se transformó en celebridad de los medios, dejará su papel como presentador de la BBC tras enfrentar críticas