Why Gary Lineker has been forced to apologise with some BBC staff left fuming that Match of the Day presenter hasn't been sacked - explained

The former England star has come in for criticism after he shared a post on Instagram. The post was from the Palestine Lobby group, showed a picture of a rat and was titled: "Zionism explained in two minutes." Lineker has since deleted the post from his account.

Lineker's post has sparked fury among some staff at the BBC, according to The Telegraph. Some have told the newspaper that the corporation's failure to sack Lineker for his latest actions is "deeply upsetting to its Jewish staff." One Jewish staff member added: "It is quite simply disgusting that the BBC has not kicked Lineker out. His repeated offensiveness to Jewish people has clearly brought the BBC into disrepute. The interpretation of Zionism he has shared is anti-Semitic and the fact that the BBC thinks it’s acceptable is deeply upsetting to its Jewish staff, myself included.”

Lineker has apologised for his actions in a statement: "On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references. I very much regret these references. I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in. The post was removed as soon as I became aware of the issue. Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the 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.”

Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, has been quizzed about the controversy and offered up the following response: "The BBC's reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us. And I think we absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that."

A spokesperson for Lineker said the Match of the Day host "did not notice" the image when he shared the video. He said: "Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”

This is not the first time Lineker has become embroiled in controversy. He was temporarily suspended from the BBC in 2023 after criticising the government's immigration policy on social media. Lineker was reinstated but has since confirmed he will leave his role as Match of the Day host at the end of the season.