Mismatch of the day Lineker's critics have got it wrong. It's valid to talk about more than sport

The most extraordinary revelation to come from Gary Lineker's interview with Amol Rajan on the BBC is that he'd sometimes come home from school to find Engelbert Humperdinck playing cards with his dad.

- Max Rushden

Surprisingly, almost all the reaction to the conversation has ignored this bombshell - Engelbert apparently not such a big player in the culture war world; best focus on your Middle Easts, your Bravermans, your impartialities, Brian.

Of course the job of news outlets is to pick out headlines but it does appear almost no one has watched the whole programme. It's essentially a nice wide-ranging interview covering the career of one of the best English footballers and football broadcasters of all time. But then comes the headline-grabbing stuff: on being stood down from Match Of the Day that Friday in 2023, on signing a letter to have a Gaza documentary put back on iPlayer, and ultimately on whether the BBC wanted him to leave.

Depending on your allegiance this is just one big BBC circle jerk, or Lineker has taken Auntie to the cleaners.

The usual suspects line up to have a go at one of their favourite targets. "Arrogant BBC interview proves he still just doesn't get it," says the Telegraph. The Daily Express quotes a body language expert who says he showed signs of "anger and unhappiness". Narrator with no body language qualifications: he didn't.

Take an unfortunate alt-right YouTube adventure and you find Dan Wootton calling it "extraordinarily delusional and out of touch" - while repeatedly calling the BBC the British Bashing Corporation. Over on GB News Patrick Christys wonders why Rajan didn't ask Lineker whether he supports Hamas. Presumably because it would be a monumentally stupid waste of a question.