As he prepares to host a daily World Cup show for Netflix, Gary Lineker says he is enjoying no longer having to “tread on eggshells” when it comes to airing his opinions.
And after 26 years at host of Match of the Day, having fronted seven World Cups, he has compared his departure from the BBC, nearly a year ago, to the breakdown of a long relationship.
Asked if he missed working for the Corporation, he explained: “I think I’d had my time. It was like a wonderful marriage that kind of petered out a bit at the end.
View 2 ImagesGary will be joined by Alan Shearer and Micah Richards on the show for Netflix – a TV version of their podcast The Rest is Football(Image: PA)
“I love the BBC, I always will. I have a huge amount of respect for it. It turns out some incredible television and I think we did in sport. But I’m enjoying life without having to tread on eggshells and everything’s going really well. So no, I don’t miss it at all.”
When he announced his decision to leave Lineker had intended to bow out after the upcoming tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada but his exit came early – prompted by an inadvertent re-posting of an antisemitic message on social media, for which he later apologised.
This time around he will front coverage for his podcast, The Rest Is Football, while also hosting a TV version, for Netflix, flanked by Alan Shearer and Micah Richards. He says the biggest benefit of working for commercial organisations is the “freedom” he has to comment on whatever he likes – something that landed him in plenty of hot water at the Beeb.
“It had become quite difficult,” he told Radio Times. “It was always fine for anyone outside of news and current affairs to have an opinion on other things in the world and then suddenly it wasn’t.
“They moved the goalposts, changed the guidelines and it became tricky because I’ve always cared about humanitarian issues, I don’t think they’re ever really political ones. Suddenly, they didn’t want you doing this or that, and [my departure] became inevitable because I have to live with myself.”
He is looking forward to this major tournament, for which he will swap Manchester for Manhattan, as much as he ever did. “There will be lots of prep and long days, but they’re long days watching football so I’m not complaining.”
The dad of four stressed that his World Cup show will be very different to what the BBC or ITV airs, because it won’t have live matches – and he can be a bit looser with his language. “I hope I won’t have to swear, that it’ll all be very positive, because we really want England to do well and win it,” he explained. “But we can be a bit more honest.”
Ahead of his early departure at the end of last year’s football season, Lineker had been suspended in 2023 for commenting on the Tory government’s immigration policy. His punishment, decided by former director general Tim Davie, led to dozens of sporting stars downing tools in his defence, leading to the first-ever presenter-free football highlights show on BBC1.
Looking back on his long career as a player and a presenter, Lineker now says that being a broadcaster is actually better than scoring a hat-trick for England, a feat he accomplished against Poland in 1986.
“I much prefer this,” he insisted. “That day in Mexico, it was 43 degrees. It was unbearable, I thought I was going to die in the second half. When the hat-trick came, I was dizzy from heat exhaustion. You’re getting kicked and you’re not getting the ball. But then you get this explosion of absolute joy, relief and exhilaration, for a few seconds, once in two hours. Whereas now, we have a bit of fun, we talk football, we’re serious about the game but not about ourselves. And no one’s trying to kick us.”
– The Rest is Football will air daily on Netflix from June 11. Full story: https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sport/football/gary-lineker-bbc-world-cup-interview/
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