Gary Lineker insists that he doesn’t regret his comments which led to the BBC suspending him in March 2023 – but admits that he wouldn’t do it again because of the ‘absolute nonsense’ that followed. Match of the Day presenter Lineker was temporarily removed from hosting duties after criticising the UK government’s immigration policy and breaching impartiality rules.
The former England striker posted on Twitter, now called X, to say that the language used by then-home secretary Suella Braverman was ‘not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s’. Lineker missed one episode of the Match of the Day, as a number of other BBC sports presenters and pundits chose not to go on air that weekend in solidarity.
Reflecting on his ban during a new bombshell interview with the BBC, Lineker was asked if he regretted the posts. “I don’t regret saying them publicly, because I was right – what I said, it was accurate – so not at all in that sense,” he affirmed.
“Would I, in hindsight, do it again? No I wouldn’t, because of all the nonsense that came with it… It was a ridiculous overreaction that was just a reply to someone that was being very rude. And I wasn’t particularly rude back.”
The 64-year-old went on to say: “But I wouldn’t do it again because of all the kerfuffle that followed, and I love the BBC, and I didn’t like the damage that it did to the BBC… But do I regret it and do I think it was the wrong thing to do? No.”
Lineker argued that the previous set of rules imposed by the BBC ‘were for people in news and current affairs’, adding: “They have subsequently changed. But that left people like me, who has always given his honest opinions about things, then they suddenly changed them and you have to go, ‘Oh, I’ve got to be impartial now’. It doesn’t make any sense.”
The ex-Leicester, Tottenham and Barcelona forward then reiterated: “I’ve always been strong on humanitarian issues and always will be, and that’s me.”
Should Gary Lineker have been suspended? Have your say in the comments section.
When asked if he understood why his comments led to increased criticism of the BBC, Lineker responded: “Yes of course, I understand that, but does it make it wrong what I did? I don’t think so. Would I do it if I knew what would’ve happened and transpired? Of course I wouldn’t.”
Lineker will step down from his role as Match of the Day presenter next month. The 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner has hosted the show for the last 26 years but will be replaced by the trio of Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan for the 2025-26 Premier League season.
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