'I got very emotional and teary' - Gary Lineker reveals heartfelt reaction to colleagues' Match Of The Day boycott in row with BBC

The BBC took Lineker off the air in 2023 for allegedly breaching their social media guidelines after saying the government's asylum policy was "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s". Colleagues Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, and Ian Wright then refused to work on that weekend's Match of the Day show, forcing the corporation to broadcast a shortened highlights programme with no commentary or analysis. Their actions moved the ex-England international to tears.

He told FourFourTwo: “It was incredibly moving what people did: Ian first, then Alan and Micah, then the commentators and the reporters. I thought, ‘My God’. I got very emotional and teary about that, because you never really know what people around you think, the people you work with every day. That loyalty to me was moving.”

In regards to the reaction to his post on X (formerly Twitter), Lineker added: “I was all right, because I wasn’t concerned that I’d done anything wrong. I just stated a fact – it was only a reply to someone who was having a pop at me, and I wasn’t rude. I just thought (the reaction) was extraordinary – it was completely taken out of proportion. I think people have recognised now that they misread the situation a little bit.”

This incident was one of the biggest news stories in the United Kingdom and went on for many days. The debate raged over whether Lineker had gone too far, if the BBC were curbing his free speech, or if he had simply breached his contract. Fast forward to the present and he is stepping down from hosting MOTD at the end of the season and will end his tenure with the BBC after the 2026 World Cup.

Lineker will also lead the BBC's FA Cup coverage next season, while continuing with his popular Rest is Football podcast with Shearer and Richards.