Lineker says ‘marriage’ with BBC ‘starting to run out of love’ by time he left
Match of the Day presenter's departure came after a row following an Instagram post he made about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult
Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker has said his “marriage” with the BBC had started to “run out of love” by the time he left the corporation.
The former England footballer, 65, was the presenter of BBC’s Match Of The Day for 26 years until he stepped down in May last year 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.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Lineker said the incident sped up his exit from the corporation, describing his relationship with the broadcaster as like a marriage that had run its course.
He said: “I was going anyway, but we just brought it forward. I thought it seemed to be the sensible thing to do.
“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.”
The sports broadcaster apologised for the post, adding that he did not see the rat visual and that he did not think “anyone actually believes I would’ve posted that”.
He said: “Obviously, I learned about that pretty quickly after that. But that one I felt bad about because that was my mistake.
“That was my mistake because it was not with intent, but I could see why some people would be upset by that.”
The former Barcelona striker fronts The Rest Is Football podcast alongside former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer with the series airing as a daily TV show on Netflix for the 2026 World Cup to cover events in the US, Canada and Mexico, where the tournament is being held.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
