Gary Lineker admits he was ‘upset’ by ‘frustrating’ response to BBC tweet controversy

‘It got completely blown out of proportion,’ TV star said

Gary Lineker has opened up about how his social media scandal impacted his emotions and home life.

The Match of the Day presenter, 64, who will depart from the BBC after fronting its coverage of the 2026 World Cup, faced a furore in 2023 after comparing the then British government’s asylum policy with 1930s Germany, describing the scheme as “immeasurably cruel”on X/Twitter.

The former England striker was briefly taken off air by the BBC, due to their commitment to impartiality, and other sports journalists and presenters walked out in solidarity, before he returned to fronting MOTD.

Lineker was quizzed about his decision to leave the BBC on the ITV series,The Assembly, in which a group of autistic, neurodivergent and learning disabled people interview celebrities – with no topic off limits.

When asked whether he thought the BBC were going to make moves to “shove” him out if he didn’t leave of his own volition, the presenter replied: “Maybe there would have been. But I think it was the right time to go. You don’t want to overstay your welcome.

“I wasn’t sacked,” he specified.

Elsewhere in the interview, the TV star admitted the reaction to his online remarks were “completely blown out of proportion” due “mainly” to stories about him published by the Daily Mail.

“I find it very frustrating,” he said. “It was a crazy week and it upset me. All the press outside my house. Every minute of the day for about five or six days. It got a bit silly.

Gary Lineker has revealed the response to his social media scandal ‘upset’ him (BBC)

“But it was actually very lovely because the backing I got from the people I worked with was beautiful,” he reflected.

Lineker has been the BBC’s highest-paid on-air talent for seven consecutive years and was estimated to have earned £1.35 million in the year 2023/24, according to the corporation’s annual report published in July.

When he stepped down, it was reported that he was open to staying on at MOTD but was not offered a new deal for the show.

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“I always wanted one more contract,” Lineker said in an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan last month.

“It was their preference that I didn’t do Match Of The Day for one more year so they could bring in new people, so it’s slightly unusual that I would do the FA Cup and the World Cup, but, to be honest, it’s a scenario that suits me perfectly.”

Lineker was taken off air by the BBC after he criticised the then-government’s asylum policy in 2023 (PA Wire)

Lineker will host BBC Sport’s coverage of the FA Cup in the 2025-26 season, continuing with the MOTD Top Ten podcast and The Rest Is Football podcast on BBC Sounds until he leaves the corporation.

The presenter has maintained that he doesn’t “regret” his remarks about the then-government’s asylum seeker policy. “I was right – what I said, it was accurate,” he said.

“Would I, in hindsight, do it again? No, I wouldn’t, because of all the nonsense that came with it.”