Gary Lineker has accused the BBC of moving the goalposts over how he was allowed to support causes, as he reflected on his exit from Match of the Day. The former host stepped down in May 2025 after reposting a social media upload featuring antisemitic iconography.
Exit from the BBC
The video Lineker shared from the group Palestine Lobby criticised the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza but also included a cartoon of a rat, a symbol widely and historically deemed as antisemitic. On announcing his departure, he apologised, writing: "I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action."
On Tuesday (August 25), the 65-year-old The Rest Is Football star spoke at the Edinburgh TV Festival, where he looked back on his career, including his time hosting Match of the Day from 1999 until 2025.
Impartiality rules
Adam Hawkins, the director of documentary series at Netflix and advisory chair for the festival, asked Lineker why he feels compelled to engage publicly with political matters. Lineker explained that the impartiality goalposts at the BBC had "shifted" in his later years.
He said: "For the first few years of Twitter, I posted about whether it's refugees or some kind of humanitarian issues around the world, and then I think it was around 2019, something like that, the BBC moves the goalposts, and they said, from now on, it applies to everyone."
The former Barcelona striker told Hawkins he had spoken to the corporation's director-general, making clear he had no intention of changing his online conduct. He said: "I still want to speak up if I want. I said I'll always be cautious, and it'll be about humanitarian issues. If I wanted a quiet an easy life I could have just shut up, but I'm an idiot."
Personal stance
He added: "I don't think it's politics, really. I'm interested in politics, I'm not interested in being in politics. I don't think I speak much about politics, although politics is involved in everything that I speak about. I think ultimately you need to live with yourself. If I see things that upset me in humanitarian terms, then I find it quite upsetting, and it triggers me to use a platform that I would never have had before. People can disagree and they do and that's absolutely fine."
Lineker highlighted the moment when then-director-general Tim Davie reformed the BBC's impartiality guidelines in October 2020. The broadcaster's update stated: "The new social media guidance applies to everyone working at the BBC whether they are using social media professionally or personally, with clear steps to follow to maintain standards and integrity."
It added: "If your work requires you to maintain your impartiality, don't express a personal opinion on matters of public policy, politics, or 'controversial subjects'."
