Gary Lineker, the former English soccer star who became a leading sports broadcaster on the BBC, announced his departure from the British broadcaster on Monday after facing criticism for reposting an antisemitic Instagram story.
Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action,” Lineker said in a statement.
Lineker apologized “unreservedly” on Wednesday for the post, adding that he only learned it contained “offensive references” after the fact and immediately deleted it.
“As the BBC’s highest-paid presenter and owner of a major media enterprise, maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
Lineker was among 500 other high-profile figures who signed an open letter in February urging the BBC to re-broadcast the documentary to its streaming service, BBC iPlayer.
After being criticized for reposting an antisemitic Instagram story, former English soccer player Gary Lineker, who rose to prominence as a sports broadcaster on the BBC, announced his resignation from the British network on Monday.
“I apologize again for the mistake and the annoyance I caused. Reversing course now seems like the responsible thing to do,” Lineker said in a statement.
Lineker faced criticism on Tuesday after posting an Instagram story from the Palestine Lobby group with the caption, “Zionism explained in two minutes,” and an image of a rat. “”.
Throughout history, antisemitic propaganda has used rats—which are associated with dirt and disease—to symbolize Jews, including by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s.
The 64-year-old Lineker, who earns approximately 1 point3 million pounds ($1 point7 million) annually as the highest-paid presenter for the British national broadcaster, was scheduled to depart the flagship soccer highlights show “Match of the Day” at the end of this season but stay on to front other soccer coverage, including the men’s World Cup the following year.
In response to his post, the BBC announced Monday that Lineker will resign from the company completely following the last “Match of the Day” show next weekend.
Gary has accepted responsibility for his error. In light of this, we have decided that he will stop presenting after this season,” BBC Director General Tim Davie said in a statement.
Lineker said he was “unreservedly” sorry for the post on Wednesday, but he deleted it right away after discovering it contained “offensive references.”.
“I accept complete responsibility for this error,” Lineker declared at the time. “I would never intentionally spread antisemitic content. It contradicts everything I hold dear. “”.
“I know that how we do so matters, even though I firmly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza,” he added.
The BBC was urged to fire Lineker by the Campaign Against Antisemitism. Lineker is also the co-founder of the wildly popular “Goalhanger” podcasts, the makers of the well-liked “The Rest is History” series, and its spin-offs about money, politics, soccer, and entertainment.
“Maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing, being the highest-paid presenter at the BBC and the owner of a major media enterprise,” a BBC spokesperson said. After ignoring the situation up until this point, it is evident that Mr. Dot Lineker’s continued affiliation with the BBC is unacceptable. He needs to leave. “.”.
Over the last 18 months, the BBC has come under intense criticism for what many believe to be an anti-Israel bias in its coverage of the Gaza War.
When it was revealed that the son of the former deputy minister of agriculture for Hamas had narrated a new documentary called “Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone,” the news service was compelled to issue an apology in February.
When the documentary was released, BBC chair Samir Shah declared that it was a “dagger to the heart” of the broadcaster’s objectivity and promised that “appropriate action” would be taken.
In February, 500 prominent people, including Lineker, signed an open letter requesting that the BBC re-broadcast the documentary on its streaming service, BBC iPlayer.
Broadly speaking, the BBC has come under fire for failing to label Hamas terrorists despite the fact that the United Kingdom forbids the group’s military wing from being classified as such and despite extensive evidence of its systematic targeting of civilians on October 7, 2023.
