Gary Lineker wasted no time taking a thinly veiled swipe at his former employer, the BBC, declaring the ITV set to be 'absolutely amazing' in stark contrast to the BBC's remote arrangements. Lineker made a brief guest appearance for ITV's coverage of the World Cup fixture between Germany and Ivory Coast (9pm kick-off).
Lineker's ITV Debut
The former Match of the Day presenter had been following the tournament from New York, where he has been hosting daily episodes of The Rest Is Football for Netflix. Lineker had initially intended to continue his involvement with the BBC's World Cup output after stepping away from Match of the Day, but it was announced in May of last year that he would be severing all ties with the broadcaster.
His appearance on ITV represents a switch to the BBC's primary competitor just over a year following his exit. As ITV launched their live coverage on Saturday evening, Lineker remarked: 'Thank you for joining us on ITV for this one, another day, another game, another channel.'
Laura Woods Interrupts
Presenter Laura Woods then interrupted: 'Woah, woah, woah Gary that's my job,' before Lineker responded: 'Sorry, sorry, old habits Laura, old habits.' Woods went on: 'As you'll notice Gary Lineker is our very special guest, England's joint top goalscorer with Harry Kane. Gary, great to have you all jokes aside, welcome to the New York and welcome to ITV family, you have a new show which we'll be talking about in a minute.'
Lineker replied: 'I've been doing a show daily for Netflix in Times Square but I did desperately wanted to come and see your set. I think it's absolutely amazing, and I can confirm that it's real. What a backdrop. And obviously I wanted to do TV, I haven't done it for a little while.'
Criticism of BBC's Coverage
Lineker's thinly-veiled jab at the BBC comes amid mounting criticism of the broadcaster's World Cup coverage, with their studio situated in Salford, Manchester, rather than on location in the United States. ITV, in stark contrast, are broadcasting from a rooftop studio boasting sweeping views across the New York and Brooklyn skyline.
BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski defended the decision to keep their set on home soil, citing financial constraints. 'I don't think the answer from a financial and sustainability point of view is to say everyone can go,' he told journalists at an event. 'I don't think that's a very clever way for me to spend licence-fee money. The actual end product that people are getting at home, I don't really think it's that different.'
Lineker's Future Plans
Lineker is set to return to ITV when his game show 'The Box' makes its debut in early September.
