Gary Lineker apologises for sharing post about Zionism featuring picture of rat

Gary Lineker has issued an unreserved apology for amplifying online material with antisemitic connotations, after reposting a video that criticised Zionism and included an illustration of a rat.

The outgoing Match of the Day presenter said he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic”, adding he had deleted the Instagram post “as soon as I became aware of the issue”.

The image of the rat was historically an antisemitic insult and used in Nazi Germany to characterise Jews.

Lineker’s apology came after the BBC director general, Tim Davie, made his anger clear over the football presenter’s post. “The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us,” he said when asked about the incident after giving a speech in Salford. “I think we absolutely need people to be exemplars of the BBC’s values and follow our social media policy. Simple as that.”

Davie is facing calls to sack Lineker from his future BBC engagements over the presenter reposting the material, which was titled “Zionism explained in less than 2 mins” and originally sent from the Palestine Lobby account.

“On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references,” Lineker said in a statement. “I very much regret these references. I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in.

“Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters. I take full responsibility for this mistake. That image does not reflect my views. It was an error on my part for which I apologise unreservedly.”

Lineker’s use of social media has created controversy for the BBC for some time. However, when he was temporarily suspended in March 2023 after criticising the then government’s immigration policies, many of his BBC colleagues protested against the decision.

It was announced last November that Lineker, who co-owns the successful Goalhanger Productions podcast company, would be stepping down from presenting Match of the Day but would continue to host World Cup and FA Cup coverage.

The BBC’s former director of television Danny Cohen, criticised Lineker’s post. “Gary Lineker appears to have shared content about the Jewish state which echoes 1930s Nazi propaganda,” he said. “This is utterly grim. The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, has a simple question to answer: does he tolerate the BBC’s flagship presenters sharing content that has historically been used as an anti-semitic slur?”

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