Gabby Logan abruptly shut down Micah Richards after he made a joke about the BBC's decision to base most of their World Cup coverage in Salford. The exchange occurred during the broadcaster's coverage of the Spain vs Argentina match on Sunday at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The Salford Jibe
Logan, Richards, Wayne Rooney, and Joe Hart were at the stadium for the match, but had been in a studio in the UK for much of the tournament. After Logan praised the fans for being incredible throughout the tournament, noting that certain countries like Norway had fans who really lit it up, Richards quipped: "There are not that many fans in Salford!"
Logan was quick to hit back: "You can't say the S-word again."
Lineker's Previous Jibes
The topic has been a sensitive one for the BBC, especially after Gary Lineker, who left the broadcaster last year, previously teased them over their decision to stay in the UK while rival channel ITV headed up their coverage from New York. Lineker, who now works with Richards on his The Rest Is Football podcast, has been able to work in the US since leaving the BBC.
“This World Cup will be different because of all the other ones I’ve done at the BBC. I would have been in Salford in the green box, and now I’m in New York City, at Times Square,” Lineker previously said. “This will be exciting and something very different but still very similar to the podcast.”
Lineker's BBC Exit
Lineker left Match of the Day in May after 26 years following a controversial social media post. He shared a pro-Palestine video that criticized Zionism and featured an image of a rat, a widely recognized antisemitic trope used by Nazi Germany as propaganda to dehumanize Jews. Lineker later said he had not seen the illustration and removed the post "as soon as he became aware of the issue," adding that he would "never knowingly share anything antisemitic."
Speaking to The Standard about his departure, Lineker said it’s “great” that he doesn’t have to “tread on eggshells” anymore. “I missed something. It wasn’t deliberate,” he said of the social media post. “I missed an emoji… I don’t think there’s a single person that believed I would do something like that, because I would never associate any group of people, any person, with a rodent, obviously. Why would I be stupid? I am stupid, but not that stupid. So I think everyone accepted that and I thought the apology should have been enough. But it wasn’t.”
New Presenters for Match of the Day
Lineker was replaced by Logan, Mark Chapman, and Kelly Cates, who alternately present the show. The incident with Richards highlights the ongoing sensitivity around the BBC's Salford base, a topic that has been a source of humor and criticism.
