Gary Lineker admits he was fired from the BBC over antisemitic comments
Legendary Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has revealed that he was dismissed from the BBC over an antisemitic post he published in May. The Englishman shared this in an interview with The New World.
Initially, it was believed that Lineker had decided to step down voluntarily, but it has now become clear that he was actually fired for comments regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip.
At the time, Lineker posted an image featuring a rat—a symbol historically used as an antisemitic slur—which he later deleted. Although he subsequently denied that he had intentionally used the rat emoji.
"I’m not an idiot. I may not have known it was an antisemitic trope, but I would have wondered why someone had put a rat there. I wouldn’t do that on purpose - it would be the biggest act of self-harm ever. It was a tough couple of days. People talked about me being antisemitic. I’m not anti-any group of people. Any race, any colour. But I am anti the killing of children. I made a mistake, but I immediately deleted it and apologized. I made a mistake and I immediately took it down and apologised, which I thought should have been enough," Lineker said.
Ileana Sanchez
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