BBC staff members were reportedly furious with Gary Lineker last week after the 64-year-old appeared to take aim at some colleagues within the broadcaster.
The presenter is poised to leave the corporation for good, with an announcement expected on Monday.
The Sun have claimed that Lineker's exit with the BBC is 'mutually agreed', with the former England striker acknowledging that his position had become 'untenable'.
This followed a recent storm where the Match of the Day host shared a pro-Palestine video to his Instagram story that appeared to depict Israelis as rats. He later pleaded ignorance, insisting he was unaware of the serious connotations at play, and also apologised for his actions.
BBC staff members were reportedly furious with Gary Lineker last week after the 64-year-old appeared to take aim at some colleagues within the broadcaster
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According to the Financial Times, Lineker left BBC colleagues and executives 'blindsided' last week where he gave an interview to the Telegraph.
In that interview, he took aim at BBC chief Alex-Kay Jelski by saying that the supremo has 'no TV experience'.
He said: "He [Kay-Jelski] has his reasons, he wants to change Match of the Day a bit.
"Ultimately, I don’t think they will, because I don’t see how you move a highlights show away from being about highlights.
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"I think he wants more journalists – he has come from that background. He has got no television experience.”
An insider says that Lineker's exit has caused a 'huge amount of upset' within the BBC.
"There is a huge amount of upset internally. This was the last straw," they said.
"There is mutual recognition that he has had to go.”
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Gary Lineker recently deleted a controversial post about Israel on Instagram with that controversy ultimately one too manyINSTAGRAMBack in November, it was announced that Lineker would be leaving Match of the Day at the end of the season.
He had originally intended to keep working with the BBC on tournaments such as the FA Cup and World Cup in 2026.
However, those plans have now changed with Lineker set to announce his departure imminently - with the veteran unlikely to get a payout.
Lineker will be replaced by Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan on the programme.
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When asked recently about his replacements, and why there are three of them, he said: "That’s probably down to the fact it’s a massive commitment.
“Those three have all got families, and if you’re saying someone is going to do it for the next 10 or 20 years, then your weekends are gone.
“That might be it, I don’t know. I didn’t get involved in any of that. I take it as a compliment that they’ve named three, but I suspect it’s not due to that.
“I haven’t seen them yet to speak to them, but I will do – they’ll be fine and they’ll do a great job. I’ve known them all for years, they’re top presenters.
Gary Lineker blindsided BBC staff by giving an interview to the Daily Telegraph
PA
“I’ll be watching, but probably on iPlayer… I don’t think I’ll be watching on Saturday.
"Maybe the odd time, if I’m in.”
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