How social media finally proved an own goal for TV's former Mr Nice Guy

IT WAS a social media controversy too far, even for football’s former Mr Nice Guy. After years of pushing the envelope through his online comments, when Gary Lineker shared an Instagram post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat — historically used as an antisemitic insult — it robbed him of his final hurrah as a BBC host.

- By Chris Evans Gary Lineker's Biographer

While Lineker deleted the repost amid a furore and “apologised unreservedly” for any offence, it proved the final straw for BBC bosses. But whether he was pushed or jumped, the former England captain, a man who had so carefully built a squeaky clean media image since hanging up his boots, will now not take his final bow at the BBC at the 2026 World Cup as expected.

Instead, this Sunday’s Match of the Day will be his final act at the corporation. It was meant to be a lap of honour to celebrate more than a quarter of a century as one of the most enduring and popular broadcasters in sport. It will now end with a renewed flow of debate and controversy around him.

Lineker has always had one eye on the media. Yet the enthusiastic youngster who spent his formative years fascinated by headlines and mastering the knack of scoring goals for boyhood club Leicester City could never have imagined he’d garner so much attention.

This latest furore and his expected BBC exit has made it difficult to avoid hearing or reading his name. But then again, it’s been that way for quite some time.

Whether it was plundering goals by the bucketload during a playing career that took him to Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham, and within a scuffed penalty of an England goal-scoring record, or as a broadcaster who has pushed the boundaries — both professionally and socially — Lineker has been on the nation’s lips for decades.

It’s hard to pick out too many English footballers who have ever achieved and maintained such a high-profile status to transcend generations. Perhaps only David Beckham can trump Lineker in that regard?