Gary Lineker has been told to “shut up and enjoy his taxpayer-funded salary” in a staggering rant.
The Match of the Day host is under fire for sharing a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling for the expulsion of Israel from international sports competitions.
The BBC broke its silence on the controversy to insist the former England international “wasn’t taking a position” in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Speaking on GB News, political commentator Alex Armstrong accused the broadcaster of “crossing the line”.
Alex Armstrong hit out at Gary Lineker
GETTY / GB NEWS
“He has retweeted an anti-Israeli tweet which he is now claiming he mistook for football news”, he said.
“As part of that tweet, it said Israel should be banned from International football. I don’t think that’s a very fair assessment.
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Gary Lineker later deleted the repost, which he said he shared due to a misunderstanding BBC“No matter where you sit. Should sport be brought into war conflict?
“This is crossing the line. The BBC are backing him saying ‘we’re not going to give a statement, but we do understand he thought it was about football’.
“Rubbish. Absolute rubbish. If you see the original tweet you’re not going to misinterpret it.
“Gary, if you want to talk about politics, stand as an MP and get it over with. See if the people want you.
“Otherwise, shut up and enjoy your taxpayer-funded salary.”
Following the backlash, Lineker opted to remove the retweet from his profile after his action sparked fury from MPs.
According to the Telegraph’s sources, Lineker claims he was misunderstood, thinking he was sharing a news article about an Israeli ban from international football.
It is understood Lineker assured the BBC he did not mean to endorse the boycott, prompting him to delete the retweet,
The Match of the Day star is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, and the fresh controversy marks yet another headache for the broadcaster when it comes to its coverage of the Middle East conflict.
The BBC has been under fire for its coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying in October that it has given “careful consideration” to all aspects of its reporting.
“We understand that this is an extremely worrying time for people not only in the region, but also in the UK and around the world, and we have reflected this in our coverage”, they said after a swathe of complaints.