Why Gary Lineker once presented BBC Match of the Day in his pants

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Gary Lineker pants has started to trend after the BBC asked the 62-year-old to take a step back from presenting Match of the Day.

Images have been floating around social media of Lineker wearing nothing but his underwear in the Match of the Day studio alongside Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, after he criticised the UK Government’s Stop the Boats campaign.

Some are aware of the context behind these pictures, but others – quite understandably – have been left very confused.

So, why did Gary Lineker host Match of the Day in his pants? Let’s take a look…

Why Gary Lineker wore pants on Match of the Day

Well, it was not to do with a shortage of outfits in the BBC dressing room.

Lineker wore pants to present the first Match of the Day programme of the 2016/17 Premier League season after making a pledge to do so if his beloved Leicester City won the title in 2015/16.

The 62-year-old released his bold pledge on Twitter back in December 2015 as Leicester remarkably sat top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Arsenal after 16 games with 35 points to their name.

Incredibly, Leicester did end up winning the Premier League – with relative comfort, in truth, as they finished ten points clear at the summit of England’s top-flight.

Lineker admitted that he did not expect the Foxes to actually end up winning the Premier League title – not by any means – and simply made the pledge to emphasise just how unlikely he felt it was.

The BBC quoted him as saying: “It is a one-off and a sporting miracle that has landed me in my underwear.

“When I tweeted that silly bet back in December, I categorically knew there was zero chance of Leicester winning the league. Zero chance. It happened but it was magical, it was great.”

Wright and Shearer could be heard giggling in the background as Lineker introduced the programme, and remained in his underwear as the trio analysed Leicester’s 2-1 defeat to Hull City on the opening day of the 2016/17 campaign.

However, he then told viewers “enough of this nonsense, I’m going to get dressed” as he returned to analyse the programme’s second game – a clash between Manchester City and Sunderland – in a shirt and trousers.