Lineker issues apology for resharing ‘antisemitic' post

Gary Lineker has apologised after sharing an Instagram video on Zionism with his 1.2 million followers that featured an emoji of a rat.

- ALEX ROSS

The Match of the Day presenter posted the story clip from the group Palestine Lobby, which, titled “Zionism explained in less than 2 min”, contained a circled illustration of the animal.

The use of the term rat in association with Jewish people has been widely recognised as antisemitic, with it being used as an insult to describe the race by Nazi Germany. The former England football captain deleted the post from his profile as soon as he saw the image, Lineker’s agent said.

Lineker issued a statement in which he “apologised unreservedly” for the post. He said: “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.

“Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters. 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.”