Gary Lineker faces sack calls after BBC presenter makes 'Nazi propaganda' post
Campaign Against Antisemitism have piled on pressure for the BBC to sack Gary Lineker after the outgoing Match of the Day host shared a pro-Palestine video on social media featuring a rat emoji. Lineker re-posted, and appears to have deleted, a cartoon image of a rat accompanied by a video that showed Canadian-Palestinian lawyer Diana Buddu attacking Israel’s war in Gaza.
Campaigners were outraged at Lineker’s apparent endorsement of the emoji, as rats were regularly used as tropes by Nazi Germany to depict Jewish people. He shared a post by the Palestine Lobby group after previously defending his right to express his opinions on issues such as Gaza.
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“Nothing to see here,” the organisation posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Just Gary Lineker’s Instagram account sharing an anti-Israel video misrepresenting Zionism, complete with a rat emoji.”
They then added: “Not only does this video deliberately misrepresent Zionism – the belief that Jews have the same right to self-determination as everyone else - but it adds a rat emoji in doing so. Why is it that Gary Lineker keeps sharing content on social media that seems to cater to Jew-haters?”
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies condemned Lineker's actions, writing: "The BBC has allowed the situation with Gary Lineker to continue for far too long. He has caused great offence with this video particularly with his egregious use of a rat emoji to illustrate Zionists."
Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, also spoke out against Lineker's re-post. He wrote: "Gary Lineker has been sharing increasingly extreme content as his fixation has grown, and it was apparent that it was only a matter of time before he crossed the line.
"Sharing content that uses a rat to demonise the very idea of a Jewish nation state draws directly from Nazi propaganda. It is unfathomable that this is apparently 'hateful conduct' on X, but acceptable conduct for the BBC."
Barrister Simon Myerson KC, who chairs the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, questioned if Lineker would “have the guts to explain this to Emily Damari”.
Damari, who was given a warm welcome on her visit to the UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, was released from Hamas captivity after being held for more than 15 months. She was kidnapped from her home in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
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Lineker is stepping down from his role as MOTD host at the end of the season, with two more shows remaining. However, he will continue to front the BBC's coverage of the FA Cup and next year's World Cup in North America.
Weeks ago, the 64-year-old defended his right to discuss world issues such as Palestine and Israel, despite being a BBC employee subjected to impartiality guidelines in his contract.
“I know where I stand on this,” he said in an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan. “I’m sorry. It’s more important than the BBC. What’s going on there is the mass murder of thousands of children is probably something that we should have a little opinion on.
"It needs to be factual.....It wasn’t impartial about Ukraine and Russia.... Why does it have to be impartial about...I understand if it’s partial about our government and things in this country and everything like that, but something that’s going on that far away. Why does it?”
In 2023, Lineker sparked an impartiality row and was suspended by the BBC after comparing language used by the in-power Conservative government to "that used by Germany in the 30s". His ban triggered a mass walk-out of BBC Sport employees and he returned to the broadcaster, after changes to the Beeb's social media guidelines.
