Gary Lineker on life after the BBC: I’m not treading on so many eggshells

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

Former England footballer and TV presenter Gary Lineker has said he is “not treading on so many eggshells these days” after leaving the BBC.

The 65-year-old stepped down as the presenter of Match Of The Day after 26 years in May last year, following criticism over him airing his political opinions on social media.

His departure came after a row following an Instagram post he made about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.

Lineker will take The Rest Is Football, made by his production company Goalhanger Podcasts, to Netflix for the 2026 World Cup for a daily TV show, alongside former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, covering events in the US, Canada and Mexico, where the tournament is being held.

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Speaking about life after the BBC, Lineker told the Press Association: “I’ve got a bit more time, I’m not treading on quite so many eggshells these days, I’m allowed an opinion on things.

“But no, I had a wonderful period at the Beeb, and I’ve covered so many major tournaments with, and obviously I was going to do this (the 2026 World Cup) originally, but now I’m doing something different, which is really exciting.

“I’m a bit surprised the Beeb are not going until possibly the very latter stages of the competition, so I won’t miss being in the green box itself, but I miss some of the company.

“But the fact we’ve got our own show now with loads of guests and stuff, that’s been replaced completely.

“We’re not in competition with the BBC in this, because obviously they’re focused on live football, we haven’t got the rights, but we’ve got a show that people can watch alongside.

“I think the BBC and ITV both, obviously, cover football brilliantly.”

Lineker went on to speak about his concerns over the US co-hosting the tournament due to the actions of US President Donald Trump, including his war with Iran, who are competing at the tournament.

The former Barcelona striker, who never received a yellow card during his career, said there had always been issues in the run up to every World Cup he had covered including concerns over LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar in 2022 and Russia hosting in 2018, four years after invading Crimea.

He said: “This time we’ve got a first, probably I think, we’ve got the host nation at war with one of the competing countries, you’ve got an unpredictable leader.

“But from my experience, which is a lot, once we get there, once it starts, it’s always alright, it’s always great, the football takes over, and I’m very much hoping that that’s the case, that we don’t have to cover the negatives and what’s gone on, and hopefully nothing goes wrong.

“But I am a little bit more nervous about this one, I think, than others, for obvious reasons.”