Gary Lineker ‘prejudiced’ for calling for sport to ban Israel, says former FA chair

The former chair of the Football Association has accused Gary Lineker of “prejudice” after the Match of the Day presenter retweeted and then deleted a call for Israel to be banned from international sport. 

On Saturday, the BBC Match of the Day presenter retweeted a post by The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel, which urged the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and “all regional and int’l sports bodies to take an urgent stance on Israel’s grave violations of human rights and subject it to legal accountability measures”.

The post also calls for the suspension of Israel’s inclusion “until it ends its grave violations of international law, particularly its apartheid rule and the crime of genocide it is perpetrating in Gaza.”

The retweet, now deleted, has garnered widespread outrage from MP’s and Jewish communal leaders, with critics noting that Lineker was paid £1.6 million to cover the World Cup in Qatar, which hosts the Hamas leadership.

David Bernstein, former chairman of the Football Association and Manchester City, told Jewish News: I am shocked and disappointed at Gary Lineker’s prejudiced and disproportionate views. This time apparently supporting a message asking for Israel to be banned from international football. The BBC should be ashamed of their pacificity and kowtowing to celebrity.”

Reacting to news that Hamas had congratulated Lineker for taking a stand against Israel, Bernstein added: “I have always believed that a person should be judged by the company they keep. It is therefore startling to see the reported support by a Hamas spokesperson thanking Gary Lineker for endorsing calls for Israel to be banned from international football. Surely the BBC must now act.”