match of the day

Gary Lineker made a candid confession about his presenting future after his surprising win in the Best Presenter category at this year’s National Television Awards

Gary Lineker opened up on his BBC exit as he took home the award for Best Presenter at the National Television Awards. The shock victory at London’s O2 saw the former Match of the Day presenter finally knock Ant and Dec from the top spot for the award.

For the first time in 23 years, the Geordie duo were left empty handed in the category, with 64-year-old Gary even joking he had won the “Ant and Dec trophy” in his winner’s speech.

However, despite his award coming from his time on the BBC’s main football show, he has admitted he won’t work with the organisation again following his early exit.

Speaking after his win, he said: “I really don’t know. At the moment, I’m really looking forward to working with ITV and I’ve got a podcast business that I have to run so I’m not so sure. I’ve got so many great memories from such a long period at the BBC.”

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He added: “I don’t think anyone thought I was cancelled. It was obviously just a mistake, an oversight. I was never in the slightest bit concerned for that but this is lovely and there’s no doubt that there’s perhaps a message here that it’s ok to share your views and speak up for those who don’t perhaps have a voice.”

Gary departed his role as the main presenter of BBC’s huge football show earlier than first expected. His exit came after he had shared a series of controversial comments during his social media activity.

One comment specifically saw him post in May 2025 concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that included a rat emoji.

The rat image has been historically used in anti-Semitic propaganda and while Lineker said sorry for sharing the post, explaining he was unaware of the image, he said he “would never knowingly share anything anti-Semitic”.

Despite Gary’s apology, the controversy led to the BBC confirming his early exit from the show. He later confirmed he would not be part of their coverage for the 2026 World Cup or the 2025/26 FA Cup.

Prior to his win on Wednesday night, Gary had received the backing of his The Rest is Football podcast pal Alan Shearer. Whilst many might have expected former Magpie Shearer to support his Geordie pals, the ex-Premier League legend is thought to have bucked the trend and voted for his sports mate.

After laughing off the suggestion that he was only going to attend the ceremony if he won, Gay told the podcast it was the “Ant and Dec award anyway”. He hinted he thought he had little hope of winning.

However, Shearer acted shocked before adding: “I have voted for you, though.”

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BBC viewers will be able to watch Premier League highlights this season more than two hours before Match of the Day.

The iconic Beeb highlights programme is set to return to screens this Saturday.

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Mark Chapman will host the first show of the post-Gary Lineker era.

In addition to Lineker’s departure following 26 years in the hotseat, the BBC will be making other changes to its Premier League output.

Match of the Day will continue to provide fans with all the match action plus high-profile punditry.

But fans will be able to watch just the highlights on BBC iPlayer from 8pm.

Despite all the goals and major incidents being available earlier, Beeb chiefs believe that MOTD will still be able to pull in a major viewership.

A BBC press release confirmed: “Published live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, match highlights from every fixture will drop at 8pm, putting all the biggest moments at fans’ fingertips ahead of the expert analysis and in-depth discussion on the main show.

“It’s a game-changing way to stay connected and fully immersed in the action.”

Chapman, 51, is set to be the first of Match of the Day’s new three rotating presenters to sit in the hotseat.

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The experienced broadcaster will rotate with Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan throughout the season.

Cates, 49, is set to continue her prominent role with Sky Sports alongside her new MOTD duties.

Per the Telegraph, Match of the Day has managed to pull in a 3.5 million average audience over recent seasons.

That is despite plenty of live TV games, streaming and goals being available on social media.

Despite Lineker’s exit, his right-hand men Alan Shearer and Micah Richards will continue as pundit regulars on Match of the Day.

While, as SunSport revealed last month, Wayne Rooney will join the team on a regular basis.

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Gary Lineker’s son paid a touching tribute to his famous dad as he wrapped his final ever Match of the Day appearance just days after he dramatically quit his BBC roles

Gary Lineker’s son has insisted nobody will present Match of the Day like his dad as the broadcaster signed off the BBC show for the final time last night. The footballing legend fought back tears as he closed the show, saying it had been an “absolute privilege.”

The player-turned-pundit’s early departure from the BBC follows a social media row after the 64-year-old shared a post about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.

Lineker was forced to apologise for the post, which saw him lose his job presenting the 2026 World Cup for the BBC. As his final ever Match of the Day came to an end, it appeared to be an emotional moment for Lineker.

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards presented him with a Match of the Day cap and Golden Boot, before a video message from Andrea Bocelli was played. After the episode aired, Gary’s son George took to social media, sharing a string of snaps of the former footballer over the years.

“The [goat emoji],” he said while sharing a clip of Gary’s final sign-off. Prior to the episode starting, George shared a snap of his dad in a commentary studio. “Enjoy your last MOTD Gaz [goat emoji,” he said. George added: “Best there is. Best there will be.” The term goat is short for “greatest of all time”

When it emerged that Gary had dramatically quit his roles at the corporation, George shared a string of images supporting his dad. He said: “Proud of you Gaz – 25 years at the top of your game. Match of the Day won’t be the same without you. The best there is. The best there will be.”

In the days before his departure was announced, Lineker is reported to have left his colleagues in little doubt over his feelings towards BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski. Lineker is said to have snubbed Kay-Jelski while working at the FA Cup final – which took place days before his exit announcement – before making remarks about the BBC boss. The Sun claim a source said: “By the end of Gary’s tenure at BBC Sport he didn’t have much time for Alex.

“When he was working on the FA Cup final, just two days before he quit, Alex came over to where Gary was and he just walked off without a word. He made a couple of remarks about Alex in earshot of people working around them. It’s clear there’s no love lost. Gary is really well liked and there are plenty of people who joked that they agreed with what he said.”

Last night viewers saw Gary become choked with emotion as he made his final ever sign-off. “I don’t know whether I can speak,” Gary said, visibly emotional. “I’ll try, I’ll try… For one last time, here’s the Premier League table. And I can’t find a copy, so you can just read it for yourselves, because it doesn’t matter.”

After noting that “one of the teams that is going down is Leicester, which isn’t how I wanted to end it”, he moved onto his closing statement. “Alan and Micah, I suspect our paths will cross again very shortly,” he said before addressing the camera.

He went on to add: “Let me take this opportunity to thank all of the other pundits that I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last 25 years, you’ve made my job so much easier. Also, a huge thank you to those you don’t see at home: the work that goes into making this iconic show is a huge team effort.

“From the editors, to the analysis team, from the commentators to the floor managers, from the producers to the camera operators, from the PAs to the subs, thank you all, you’re the very best. Rather like my football career, everyone else did all the hard work and I got the plaudits.

“It’s been an absolute privilege to host Match of the Day for a quarter of a century. It’s been utterly joyous. I’d like to wish Gabby, Mark and Kelly for when they sit in this chair – the programme is in the best of hands.

“And my final thank you goes to all of you. Thank you for watching. Thank you for all of your love and support over the years. It’s been so special – and I’m sorry that your team was always on last. Time to say goodbye. Goodbye.”

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Gary Lineker is reportedly set to step down from the BBC on Monday following growing backlash over a controversial social media post that sparked accusations of anti-Semitism

Former England footballer and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker is expected to leave the BBC by mutual agreement, amid escalating criticism surrounding his recent social media activity.

The fallout began last Monday after Lineker, 64, shared a pro-Palestinian video on Instagram that included a rat emoji which is a symbol historically used in Nazi propaganda to dehumanize Jewish people. The post drew widespread condemnation and was quickly deleted. Lineker issued an apology, but the controversy continued to intensify throughout the week.

Pressure on the broadcaster increased on Thursday after The Telegraph published a revealing interview in which Lineker expanded on his criticism of Israel’s actions and appeared to take aim at senior figures within the BBC.

According to sources, plans for Lineker to lead BBC coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup have now been scrapped. His early departure from the broadcaster is expected to be confirmed today.

The Match of the Day star, who is the highest-paid presenter at the BBC apologised for sharing a video an anti-Zionism video. The post featured a picture of a rat, which has historically been used as an antisemitic insult, referring to language used in Nazi Germany to characterise Jews.

Gary immediately deleted the post after realising the significance of the symbol, according to his agent. Last Tuesday afternoon, he also issued a statement in which he “apologised unreservedly” for his “mistake”.

“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 Match of the Day presenter said he deleted the post “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,” Lineker continued.

“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,” he concluded.

Gary had been due to leave the BBC after the 2026 World Cup but the long-standing Match of the Day host appears ready to bring an early end to his time with the broadcaster. The seasoned presenter has quit amid the backlash to a social media post on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

He reshared content from the group Palestine Lobby, prompting claims from Campaign Against Antisemitism that they would be lodging a complaint.

Tim Davie, director general of the BBC, previously issued a response to the backlash. “The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us,” he said.

Back in 2023, Lineker was taken off the air for an episode of Match of the Day following comments about Conservative government language.

“We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries,” he wrote. “This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”

In a recent interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, Lineker questioned the Beeb’s social media guidelines. “The impartiality rules were for people in news and current affairs. They have subsequently changed,” he said.

“But that left people like me, who has always given his honest opinions about things. Then they suddenly changed them and you have to go, ‘Oh, I’ve got to be impartial now’. It doesn’t make any sense.

“Why worry about the people who don’t like you. This is the mistake the BBC makes. The BBC tries to appease the people that hate the BBC. The people who always attack the licence fee. They worry far too much about that, rather than worrying about the people who love the BBC.”

“Why shouldn’t I have an opinion on things?” Lineker asked in the same interview with Rajan. “I’ve always been strong on humanitarian issues and always will be, and that’s me. The goalposts were massively moved because it was never an issue until, suddenly, this point.

“It was always stipulated in the BBC guidelines that in terms of impartiality, it was for people who work in news and current affairs. I am very, very thoughtful about what I say. They took me off air and it was a silly overreaction.”

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