Gary Lineker has revealed that he always ignored the BBC’s rule to apologise for foul language after kicking off coverage of the World Cup on The Rest is Football podcast.
Dressing room language regularly spills over onto live TV, with broadcasters usually forced to apologise for any X-rated language in post-match interviews or during coverage. That was an approach that the BBC also adopted, particularly during Lineker’s time with the broadcaster.
However, Lineker, whose new Netflix show features regular swearing, chose to completely ignore it. Speaking to The Telegraph, the former England forward said: “We have this strange obsession with worrying about swearing even though it’s just four letters in a certain order.
“It has always bewildered me. I found it really odd. When someone swears on TV you get told in your ear [communications] to apologise. I never did. I always ignored it.”
Lineker’s BBC Exit and Digs at Former Employer
Lineker’s time at the BBC came to an end in May 2025 after a 26-year spell as host of Match of the Day. His exit came after a controversial social media post he made about Zionism, which he later apologised for.
Since his exit, Lineker has not been afraid to fire a few digs at his former employers. Speaking on the first episode of the World Cup run of the Rest Is Football, Lineker’s colleague Micah Richards said: “Harry please, I am sick to death of this man to my left talking nonsense every single day on the pod about World Cup this, Golden Boot that. Harry please, even if you don’t win it…”
Lineker added: “I don’t really mind it actually because all it does, it keeps me relevant. Leave it out.” Alan Shearer then said: “You’re not f*****g relevant anymore, you’re off the BBC. You are on Netflix with us.”
Lineker Fires Back at Shearer and Richards
Lineker then fired back: “I would say that is a step in the right direction and the pair of you can f*** off.” Meanwhile, Lineker also fired a jibe at the BBC for not deciding to have a studio on the ground at the World Cup. He said: “I was originally going to do it for the BBC, this summer, but that didn’t transpire and I would have been in Salford in a green box and now I’m going to be in New York City overlooking Times Square with lots of great guests.”
BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski replied: “It's not a green box in Salford. It's a beautiful state-of-the-art studio. No one's seen it until now. It's completely fine to assume that what was there before was what it was going to be. And I'm really proud of this.”
“The actual end product people are getting at home, I don't really think it's that different,” Kay-Jelski added. “If these people were sitting somewhere else, would your viewing be massively changed? If I was standing here saying, 'Everything is going to be done from a studio in Dallas', you would rightly be saying to me, 'How can you justify that spend?'”
Lineker’s new role with Netflix marks a significant shift from his long-standing BBC career, and his candid comments continue to spark conversation.
