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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Lauren Del Fabbro

Gary Lineker opens up about ‘marriage’ with the BBC

Gary Lineker
  • Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker has revealed his "marriage" with the BBC had started to "run out of love" by the time he left the corporation.
  • He stepped down as presenter of BBC’s Match Of The Day in May last year after 26 years, following criticism over him airing his political opinions on social media.
  • His departure came after a row following an Instagram post he made about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.
  • Lineker told The Louis Theroux Podcast : “I think it’s like a marriage with the BBC. We’d been together for a long time and we were starting to run out of love for each other. I’ll always love the BBC. It’s an amazing, amazing corporation."
  • He now fronts The Rest Is Football podcast, with the series airing as a daily TV show on Netflix for the 2026 World Cup.

IN FULL

Gary Lineker admits BBC ‘marriage’ ran out of love before Match of the Day exit

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