Gary Lineker made a shock and unexpected return to the BBC to hijack the coverage following England's historic 2-1 win over Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals. The former England captain and BBC presenter barged into BBC Sport's live broadcast, interrupting Micah Richards' segment in an uncomfortable cameo appearance after his exit from the channel.
Lineker's Return to BBC
Lineker concluded his 26-year tenure as the host of Match of the Day on the final day of the 2024-25 Premier League season by "mutual consent." However, during the World Cup, he has been fronting much of the ITV and Netflix coverage of the tournament. Despite this, he returned to his BBC ways during their live coverage of England's victory.
BBC Sport were live on air covering Thomas Tuchel's team securing their World Cup semi-final place, after a gutsy performance in the quarter-finals, which ITV held the TV rights for. The BBC's coverage featured former England striker Wayne Rooney and Ellen White analyzing the extra-time triumph, with Richards dialling in from New York.
Hijacking the Coverage
Halfway through the analysis, Lineker barged in and disrupted proceedings. The pundits were debating England's penalty after it was reversed by referee Clement Turpin when Richards was sharing his thoughts on the French official's decision to overturn. Lineker suddenly leapt into frame clad in his England gear and gave his input: "Definitely a penalty," he said, leaving Richards taken aback, as he added: "Come on England. Nice to see you all there."
The 65-year-old then swiftly left while Rooney delivered a parting jibe, remarking: "Kit looks a bit snug there, Waz," in jest. The group laughed and then carried on with proceedings.
Lineker's VAR Frustration
Lineker seemed in a better mood than when he was hosting ITV's coverage of the Argentina vs Egypt game, when the Argentines won 3-2 after more involvement from VAR. Egypt looked to have doubled their 1-0 lead early into the second half of their round of 16 clash, but VAR spotted a foul on Lisandro Martinez in the process of play and disallowed the goal to keep the score at 1-0. It was a decision unpopular with Lineker, as he hit out at VAR.
According to Lineker: "The problem is we will never, ever get consistency from VAR because they change their tune. They weren't involved much at the start of the tournament, then they want to get involved, now they're being more involved, now they'll probably be less involved because there'll be a bit of a stink about this one. The problem is not necessarily all of the people doing VAR, the problem is VAR itself."
