Gary Lineker looks on during the Emirates FA Cup Final match on May 17, 2025 in London, England. (Michael Regan – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Gary Lineker, the former soccer star and long-time sportscaster for the BBC, is leaving the broadcaster amid backlash after reposting an Instagram story about Zionism that featured a rat emoji.
Lineker announced his resignation on Monday, six days after a British antisemitism watchdog called for him to be dismissed over the post.
“Perhaps Mr Lineker is not as naive or accident-prone as he might like us to believe,” the Campaign Against Antisemitism said on X. “As the BBC’s highest-paid presenter and owner of a major media enterprise, maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Lineker had previously apologized for the post, which was originally from the account Palestine Lobby and included the words “Zionism explained in less than 2 mins” along with an emoji of a rat, a historically antisemitic symbol for the Jews that was commonly used in Nazi Germany propaganda.
In a video posted on his Instagram, Lineker apologized for the post and said that he “did not see” the rat emoji, and that if he had he would “never ever have shared it.”
“I would like once again to say I’m sorry unreservedly for the hurt and upset caused, it was a genuine mistake and oversight, but I should have been more diligent, I know that,” said Lineker in the video apology.
“I’ve stood up for minorities and humanitarian issues and against all forms of racism all of my life, including of course antisemitism which I absolutely abhor. There’s no place for it and never should be,” Lineker continued.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said Lineker’s “empty and belated apology is the first after years of baiting the Jewish community, just as levels of antisemitism soar.” He also called for Lineker’s dismissal.
The Instagram account Palestine Lobby reposted the video with a new caption Monday, saying that it had also not inserted the emoji and suggesting that Lineker was being punished for his views.
“We did not add the ‘emoji’ or even notice it FFS, someone was just upset that the message is getting out there and decided to use it to get a good man in trouble…we stand with @garylineker and against anti$emitism #freepalesti̇ne.”
The BBC announced Lineker’s departure in a press release Monday, writing that he would not return to his show, “Match of the Day,” for next year’s coverage. The sportscaster’s final episode will air next week.
“Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season,” said Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, in a statement.
“Gary has been a defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades,” Davie continued. “His passion and knowledge have shaped our sports journalism and earned him the respect of sports fans across the UK and beyond. We want to thank him for the contribution he has made.”
This is not the first time that Lineker has been criticized for social media posts that some have denounced as antisemitic. In 2023, the BBC briefly suspended Lineker after he posted on X comparing British immigration policy to Nazi Germany, saying that he had violated the network’s political impartiality policy.
Lineker was also one of the 500 signatories of a letter to the BBC calling on them to “stop censorship on Palestine” after it removed the documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.” The documentary was pulled from distribution amid revelations that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
