Gary Lineker has acknowledged uncertainty regarding his future as the host of Match of the Day, admitting he doesn’t know if he will continue beyond his current contract.
The former England striker has become one of the most renowned pundits in the world and has become the face of BBC’s Match of the Day program.
With just under two years remaining on his contract, Lineker remained non-committal when pressed on his intentions beyond that timeframe.
Upon being asked about his Match of the Day future, he said (via The Mirror):
“I don’t know. I’ve still got almost two years left on my contract. So it’s too early to contemplate that at the moment.
“But I mean I love doing Match of the Day, but, you know, obviously what happens with… football rights and things like that, will determine things and you know, things change.”
“I’ve had an amazing life. I love working for the BBC. It’s been great. I’ve worked for them now for almost 30 years. And in that time we had one little fallout and that’s it and it was quickly overcome.”
Back in March 2023, he was axed from the show after he cause controversy with his post on X (formerly Twitter), which criticised the UK government’s then announced refugee policy to that of Nazi Germany’s.
There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 7, 2023
The tweet, condemning the policy as “immeasurably cruel” and drawing comparisons to historical language, sparked backlash.
Consequently, the BBC announced Lineker’s suspension from presenting Match of the Day pending an agreement on his social media usage.
Despite the ensuing controversy, Lineker refused to apologise for his remarks, garnering support from colleagues including Jermaine Jenas, Alex Scott, Ian Wright and Micah Richards – all of whome refused to take part in the show in solidarity. Ultimately, he was reinstated by the network.