Forum Topic

All The Best, Gary Lineker

Yes, what you did was stupid and caused offence, Gary, but you were an incredible footballer, have been a great host over the years and have used your position to help some of those without voices - especially refugees. For this, well done. You also had the decency to own up to your silly mistake and apologise. Something many people in privileged positions all over the world never do. Anyone who annoys Fascist Farage and Stupid Suella is clearly a very, very good person who cares about people. Shame about the way it all ended, but best of luck to you, sir!

Dave Mannisa ● 37d64 Comments

Well, after the latest ITV cull comes GBNews culling more staff to stay afloat, and it is looking like Sky is going to go the same way and come off linear TV to stay afloat.With the BBC still not looking ahead while its revenue falls year by year, and the rumour that Freeview will go before 2030 as it's costing a fortune to keep running, and the switch to freely will come sooner.Its all change on the way

Julian Pavey ● 28d

Try Skidmark, closer wink wink

Jim Smith ● 28d

Most of the broadcasters have staff leaving (resigning) before they were pushed. Alistair Stewart left ITN under a cloud, Hugh Edwards left the BBC under a bigger cloud, plenty of SkySports presenters have left under mysogynistic clouds, and GB News have also had their share.Gary Lineker's position at the BBC was of course untenable by the end.

Andrew Jones ● 29d

“there’s no justifiable reason for you to wonder about the possibility“Mmmmm. Well one of their highest paid presenters used a rat emoji didn’t he!!!!Hopefully the BBC has learnt its lesson and will from now on clamp down on its employees. Didn’t they do similar with Jeremy Vine and force him to stop his rantings about motorists?

Steve Taylor ● 29d

Well to date the BBC hasn’t used a Rat Emoji to depict Israelis or Jews and I can’t see it happening going forward either so there’s no justifiable reason for you to wonder about the possibility- the possibility is zero.

Andrew Jones ● 29d

“they would have to have to call out the IDF as terrorists, and we wouldn't like that to happen, would we? “Mmmm but I wonder if they would use a rat emoji to depict Jews.

Steve Taylor ● 30d

The latest IDF atrocity:35 killed in Fahmi Al-Jargawi School where hundreds of people were sheletering.Even if there was a Hamas Command and Control centre there ( and the IDF would say that wouldn't they to try and provide some quasi-moral justification for the slaughter they carry out everyday) does that justify the killing of all those innocents?There are terrorists on both sides in this conflict, but a hell of a lot more innocent Palistinians than Israelis are dying.

Andrew Jones ● 30d

Do you also wonder why the Israelis are murdering thousands of civilians .On Friday a Palestinian doctor , a paediatrician had her home blown up losing nine of her ten children.I would suggest the terrorists are on both sides  we will just have to let you carry on wondering about the BBCs definitions.

David Burke ● 30d

Well if the BBC used the Israeli Ministry of Defense (sic) definition of terrorist organisation:"A terrorist organization is defined as a body of persons resorting in its activities to acts of violence calculated to cause death or injury to a person or to threats of such acts of violence, in order to achieve its goals."they would have to have to call out the IDF as terrorists, and we wouldn't like that to happen, would we?

Andrew Jones ● 30d

It also makes me wonder why the BBC refuses to call out HAMAS as terrorists.

Denis I. Fox ● 30d

I quite often watch MOTD on catch up so I can fast forward through too much chattering and pieces telling me how well a team did last week or the last time they played against another particular team.By the looks of what is going to happen to the programmes.I may be doing that quite a bit more.

Keith Iddon ● 30d

For someone who tweets about current affairs/world politics, it was lovely to see his supportive/shock/sympathy tweet just after the 7th October massacre.Tells you all you need to know.

Nick Jenkins ● 30d

He’s history after today.

Steve Taylor ● 31d

Name some then.

Keith Iddon ● 31d

who is this Ollie Bottle? if he's the OP then he's done us all a favor suppose. so many antisemites here.

Davy Jones ● 31d

Michael,if you had any you would give his full name.

Keith Iddon ● 31d

Where's Ollie?

Michael Brown ● 31d

Ollie, Ollie, Ollie - Oi, Oi, Oi. Ollie, Oi - Ollie, Oi - Ollie, Ollie, Ollie... ... ... ...

Michael Brown ● 33d

Michael Brown ● 33d

Amid all this talk surrounding football, the most popular sport in the world, mention should be mentioned of Brian Glanville who  stood out in his knowledge of the beautiful game, who wrote about it for the Sunday Times for over 50 years, and wrote nearly 30 books about it.His reports on the big games gave readers not only the facts but the twists, turns and tactics effecting the play.The man of whom the Sunday Times editor, Andrew Neil said "One of the greatest ever Football writers".His last book was The History of Highbury Stadium.RIP Brian Glanville, who died this Monday, age 93.

Denis I. Fox ● 34d

It is. Is "Michael Brown" yours?

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

Is 'Dave Mannisa' your real name? Show us your documents..

Michael Brown ● 34d

No, but I have seen how many more grand slams Serena has won.

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

Btw and since you mention those two tennis greats,have you seen Serena's response when asked the question of how she thought she would get on if she played against Murray?

Keith Iddon ● 34d

Thanks,your last poat made me chuckle.

Keith Iddon ● 34d

No problem. What happens is a lot of sports have men's versions and women's versions. All the players in these sports are amazing athletes and excel in their sports. For example, Harry Kane is a MAN and has never played women's football. Andy Murray is also a MAN and never played Women's tennis.Whereas Serena Williams is a WOMAN and never played men's tennis.Let me know if there is anything else you are unsure of when it comes to sport.

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

Thanks for clearing that up and for making my point for me.

Keith Iddon ● 34d

A great career full stop.She has never played in the men's game. She's a woman.

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

Yes,a great career in women'd football.But she still wouldn't lastba minute in men's non league football.

Keith Iddon ● 34d

What an incredible achievement to get 140 England caps. Second most of all time.Scored a winning goal in a European Cup final, too. And following that up with being one of the best football pundits on TV. Amazing career.

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

She wouldn't lat a minute in men's football at non league level.

Keith Iddon ● 34d

Gabby Logan is gonna be great. Wonderful presenter and incredibly knowledgeable.Mark Chapman great also.Alex Scott would also be brilliant. Hopefully she will join as a regular pundit. Great player.

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

Agreed,and it should be someone who has played football in the top men's division and preferably at international level.

Keith Iddon ● 34d

Gary Lineker was good at his job as a football show presenter, but IMHO was massively overpaid for doing it. I don't know whether his accent or grammar met ST's required standards, but I'm sure there are plenty of other ex-footballers who could do the job just as well for considerably less in fees.

Richard Greenhough ● 34d

I would suggest that Lineker doesn’t have a choice in this. It’s obviously the BBC who are, quite rightly, furious about his comments and and cancelling him. Good riddance!

Steve Taylor ● 34d

A reckoning for who?

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

But staying silent can be construed as being complicit in a crime.  There will be a reckoning sometime.

Philippa Bond ● 34d

“ Gary Lineker’s football podcast to leave BBC Sounds after social media rowGary Lineker’s football podcast will have its last episode on the BBC’s audio streaming service this week, the PA news agency understands.It comes after the corporation announced the player-turned-pundit’s early departure from the broadcaster following a social media row after the 64-year-old shared a post about Zionism which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.”

Steve Taylor ● 34d

And one of the concerns is that Farage is well documented in his admiration of the likes of Oswald Mosley and Enoch Powell. Dangerous times.

Dave Mannisa ● 34d

“ Lineker could easily have not twigged its significance,”Duh! So he was so stupid as to just post without questioning what the significance was?  Is he really that dense!

Steve Taylor ● 34d

Agreed.  My FIL was with the British Army in WW2 when they liberated one of first of the many concentration camps in Germany.  The local population flatly denied that they knew what was happening there.  I am reminded of Martin Niemoller's poem and I find it worrying the way "Never Again" seems to be being used nowadays.  We should be learning from world history so as not to repeat or allow to be repeated the worst of it.

Philippa Bond ● 34d

Yes - it's a game of 2 halves, innit? One team kicks the ball in one direction, and the other team does the opposite. If one team wins, the other one loses.

Brian Coyle ● 35d

It took some time to track down an image from the actual post (reproduced a few days ago in the Daily Mail) but the offending added emoji looks more like a small mouse than the traditional rat image, which the Mail shows for comparison. Lineker could easily have not twigged its significance, but for the many interested parties that must scour his public posts, it would have been the gotcha they’d been looking for!

Peter Evans ● 35d

Send Lineker in.

Mark Frost ● 35d

Fair comment I suppose, but how would you suggest that he deals with Hamas?

Brian Coyle ● 35d

“ As for Rosenberg, he does no favours to the Jewish community with his ill-considered comments”He is the elected President of the Board and nothing you can do about it. He is well respected by the Jewish community and his comments were not ill-considered. He was speaking on behalf of the Jewish community he represents. Well done to him for speaking out against the bile posted by the has-been.

Steve Taylor ● 36d

“ will hoefully end up in the Hague.”I can agree with you on that and if he is found guilty, hopefully he will pay dearly for his crimes. In the meantime whoohoo - Lineker will be gone by next week!

Steve Taylor ● 36d

He can post what he pleases now he's not be8 paid by the BBC. It's probably going to be a lot less.Can we get some sensible commentary on football now?

Mark Frost ● 36d

Gary Lineker may have provoked an inevitable rupture with the BBC through unwise comments on social media, but he did not, repeat not, compare Jewish people to rats. That is a gross distortion of the truth readily embraced by people who loathe Lineker for political reasons. Lineker has said that he didn't even notice the offending emoji - a fact which you, Steve Taylor and James Dow conveniently ignore, because it doesn't suit your splutterings of prejudice against him.

Robert Fish ● 36d

My 'championing' Gary Lineker has nothing to do with football. I don't follow football - my sporting passions are rugby and cricket. I just think he is a thoroughly decent chap, and I admire his courage for speaking up about his concerns, even though the expression of those concerns jeopardises his employment at the BBC. He was also incredibly generous in his support of a charity of which my wife was a trustee.I see no justification for referring to his 'bile'. The use of the word to describe honest criticism says more about you and the President of the Board of British Deputies than it does about Lineker. As for Rosenberg, he does no favours to the Jewish community with his ill-considered comments, at a time when antisemitism is sadly on the increase. He would serve the interests of British Jews better by distancing himself from Netanyahu and his criminal band, rather than criticising the 36 Deputies who published an open letter saying that they could no longer support Israel in its war in Gaza.Finally, it's ironic that you, as someone whom I've had occasion to call out for antisemitic comments on this forum, should quote Rosenberg's comments to justify your own animus towards Lineker.

Robert Fish ● 37d

Mr Fish, Gary Lineker's position as the head of BBC sport has been called as a result of his controversial views on a number of topics.Knowing the impartiality expected of BBC presenters he has defiantly flaunted the laws criticizing the BBC for pulling out of a Gaza documentary, has condemned the govts of the day for exercising immigration policies and now, to finally nail down his coffin, he compared Jewish people to rats.That disgusting comment was pushing his luck one step too far.

Denis I. Fox ● 37d

Well said Dave,unbelievable that people can find it objectionable for Gary to voice his contempt for Netanahu and his ilk blowing innocent women and children to bits. No wonder they won't allow foreign broadcasters including the best , the BBC into Gaza. Netanyahu is keeping this genocide going because if he stops he is toast with the majority of the Israeli people.he is a war criminal and will hoefully end up in the Hague.It is not antisemitic to criticise Zionist expansionists.

David Burke ● 37d

Yet Vanessa and Dave  and Fish continue to champion him. Oh how football can cloud the mind. “ Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the presenter's "empty and belated apology is the first after years of baiting the Jewish community, just as levels of antisemitism soar"."His use of social media has been unacceptable for too long," he added."It is high time that the licence-fee payer ceases to be obliged to subsidise and amplify his bile."”

Steve Taylor ● 37d

Agree Dave - some of the comments on here speak volumes as to the views of certain people.

Vanessa Smith ● 37d

What a guy. Has done so much good in his career, overall.You have to admire someone who annoys the racists.And now he'll be able to annoy them even more as he won't have BBC restrictions. Woohoo!

Dave Mannisa ● 37d

Notably still no evidence from you to justify calling him antisemitic.

Robert Fish ● 37d

If he finds a broadcaster who accepts his 'offensive' Zionism post with rat image and his excuse that he didn’t realise the rat image relates to Nazi images when they compared rats with Jews. What did he think the rat was about. If he finds a broadcaster whose sponsors accept his stupidity or blind ignorance , so be it. At least TV Licence Fees won’t be paying him.Hopefully he will never work in TV again. It’s disgraceful how he used his position to spout politics.

Steve Taylor ● 37d

Yes that is what he is Gaza, or no Gaza.

James Dow ● 37d

Yes that is what he is Gaza, or no Gaza.

James Dow ● 37d

He is indeed a case of put a beggar on horseback. Good riddance to him.

Steve Taylor ● 37d

"His continual posting of antisemitism" - examples, please! Of course, if you are sufficiently biased as to consider any expression of sympathy with the plight of the benighted inhabitants of Gaza, any criticism of Israel's conduct in Gaza or of the British government's supine attitude as evidence of antisemitism, then you are bound to come to the conclusion that he is a raving antisemite who must be kicked out of the BBC.

Robert Fish ● 37d

This primus inter pares finally undone by his continual posting of antisemitism.I will be one of many to see the back of him on our screens this Saturday night, and so glad we can look forward to the next World Cup without his ever so erudite knowledge of all things soccer.

Denis I. Fox ● 37d

I have watche MOTD for 58 years and am slightly trepidatious that there will be more presenters and talking heads who have not played First Division or Premiership football,more peripheral rubbish and less action.I hope not.

Keith Iddon ● 37d

Gary's is a classic case of put a begger on horseback and he will ride to hell.!

James Dow ● 37d