Lineker 'misinterpreted' shared post urging Israel to be banned from football

15 January 2024 , 21:57

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BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker

BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has removed a post he shared on social media that called for Israel to be banned from international football due to it reportedly being misinterpreted.

Lineker came under fire after reposting a tweet from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). The post included a statement from the Palestinian Football Association which urged FIFA, the IOC and other sporting bodies to "take an urgent stance" against Israel.

The PACBI said they supported the Palestinian Football Association and called for "international public and official pressure on international sporting bodies, especially the IOC and FIFA, to suspend Israel’s membership and ban it from international tournaments and games".

They also accused Israel of "grave violations of international law" and "committing the world’s most live-streamed genocide". However, Lineker has since removed his retweet and it is understood that he did so due to claims it was misinterpreted.

A source claims Lineker was not endorsing the content of the original post, but instead wanted to highlight the statement given its reference to football and the Palestinian Football Association. It is also understood Lineker's actions are not a breach of BBC guidelines.

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The retweet did spark plenty of backlash, with the Campaign Against Antisemitism criticising Lineker for "amplifying a call to suspend the world's only Jewish state from international sports".

Several Conservative MPs also criticised Lineker, with Jewish MP Andrew Percy calling him an "ill-informed, ignorant commentator on the Middle East". In March last year, Lineker was told to step back by the BBC after he criticised the government's controversial Rwanda bill.

In a tweet, Lineker compared comments made by then Home Secretary Suella Braverman about migrants to the language used in 1930s Germany. After being stood down by the BBC, that weekend's Match of the Day was broadcast without presenters or pundits after a number of broadcasters pulled out in a show of solidarity.

New guidelines were then introduced by the BBC in September, with incoming BBC chairman Samir Shah stating in December the corporation "needs to find a solution" to the controversy surrounding some of Lineker's tweets.

"I do think we need to find a solution to this because it doesn't help anyone and it does damage the reputation of the BBC if we are constantly in this round, not just with this particular presenter or not," Shah said. "The BBC's reputation matters and this isn't helpful and we do need to find a solution to it and if I were to be chair I would be keen to bring about a solution."

Matthew Cooper