Gary Lineker has spent decades as a fixture of World Cup coverage, and he could not resist getting involved again — just not on the channel viewers were used to seeing him on.
The presenter left the BBC last year after 26 years fronting Match of the Day, his exit arriving abruptly following a row over his social media posts. He had even been lined up to lead the corporation’s tournament coverage before those plans were scrapped.
Instead, Lineker turned up as a studio guest on ITV during Germany’s Group E meeting with Ivory Coast. He was his usual entertaining self, sharing a joke with anchor Laura Woods and slipping in a sly dig at his old employers.
Gary Lineker makes two BBC references during World Cup guest appearance
Lineker joined ITV’s panel alongside Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Duncan Ferguson, having made the short trip to the broadcaster’s studio in New York.
When the broddcast was coming to a close, Lineker began: “Thank you very much for joining us on ITV for this one! Another day, another game, another channel…”
Woods played along with a mock objection, telling him: “That’s my job!”
Lineker, smirking, replied: “Sorry, Laura. Old habits…”
It was a knowing nod to the 26 years he spent presenting Match of the Day before leaving the BBC.
His second reference was aimed at the setting. The BBC chose to base its World Cup coverage in Salford rather than send its team across the Atlantic, a decision that has drawn criticism — and ITV’s New York skyline backdrop offered the former England striker the chance to take another pop.
He said: “We are in Times Square, but I desperately wanted to come and see your set, and I can confirm it’s real! What a backdrop!”
It was all quite light-hearted, but there is definitely lingering resentment and rightly so. Seeing the 65-year-old back in front of our television sets was a reminder of the kind of entertainment and fun he brings to his punditry.
Hopefully, we see plenty more of Lineker over the coming weeks.
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