Gary Lineker reveals his only regret from BBC split after three-word jab at broadcaster | Football | Sport

Gary Lineker has revealed the one thing he regrets about his controversial BBC exit after sending a subtle jab at the broadcaster. After leaving his role on Match of the Day, the former England striker was initially scheduled to front the Beeb’s live coverage of the FA Cup and this summer’s World Cup. However, his exit was accelerated after he shared a controversial post on Instagram, for which he later apologised.

He shared a video about Zionism which featured an image of a rat, which has historically been used as an insult referring to language used by Nazi Germany about Jewish people. It sparked an antisemitism row and Lineker responded by stepping back from his BBC commitments. At the time, he apologised for the post and insisted that he would never knowingly post offensive content directed at a particular group of people.

Reflecting on the manner of his BBC exit just over 12 months later, the 65-year-old said that he wished he had checked the post more thoroughly before sharing it to his own account.

“You’ve got to have your own morals,” he explained. “It was like a marriage. It petered out. The only regret I have is missing the [rat] emoji. Nothing else.

“I apologised immediately and then I apologised again. I don’t think anyone thinks it was deliberate, but I apologised because it was a mistake. I didn’t see it. I’m not that stupid.”

It comes after Lineker, who is preparing to host a daily World Cup show on Netflix, aimed a three-word dig at the BBC as he explained that he is no longer having to ‘tread on eggshells’.

“I love the BBC, I always will,” he said. “I have a huge amount of respect for it. It turns out some incredible television and I think we did in sport.

“But I’m enjoying life without having to tread on eggshells and everything’s going really well. So no, I don’t miss it at all.”

Lineker says the biggest benefit of working for commercial organisations is the freedom he has to comment on whatever he likes, something that landed him in plenty of hot water at the BBC.

“It had become quite difficult,” he told Radio Times. “It was always fine for anyone outside of news and current affairs to have an opinion on other things in the world and then suddenly it wasn’t.

“They moved the goalposts, changed the guidelines and it became tricky because I’ve always cared about humanitarian issues, I don’t think they’re ever really political ones.

“Suddenly, they didn’t want you doing this or that, and [my departure] became inevitable because I have to live with myself.”