Gary Lineker set to QUIT BBC entirely amid antisemitism row and will not present 2026 World Cup coverage

Former England international Lineker has courted controversy of late through a number of statements made on the podcasts that he fronts and through his social media channels. A recent post on Instagram has caused another storm, and as a result his exit seems set to be brought forward.

Lineker recently shared a post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat, which is historically considered to be an antisemitic insult. The 64-year-old apologised and deleted the image in question, claiming to have not intentionally shared the image.

BBC director general Tim Davie did, however, state that: “The BBC's reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.” It is now being claimed, by the BBC themselves, that Lineker’s position may have become “untenable”.

He was temporarily suspended in March 2023 after becoming caught up in an impartiality row after claiming in another social post that the language used in UK government asylum policy was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.

Lineker is the highest paid presenter on the BBC’s books, but now appears set to sever ties with the corporation. It was announced in November 2024 that he would be stepping down as Match of the Day host after 25 years in that role.

He has one more show to take in there - before being replaced by Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan - but may not be seen on the BBC after that despite his contract being due to run through to next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.