Gary Lineker to leave BBC: a PR professional's view of the row

What can PR professionals learn from the way in which both the corporation and the Match of the Day presenter handled the fallout from the social media antisemitism row?

By Keren Haynes

I’ve read that he never incurred as much as a yellow card during his entire career as a footballer but now it seems he’s scored an own goal. As a result, Gary Lineker will be prematurely leaving the BBC this Sunday, under a black cloud.

It’s been just over a week since the football pundit reposted – he said, unwittingly – a pro-Palestinian video on Instagram, which included a rat emoji, a symbol adopted by antisemitic activists. Among others, it was used against the Jewish people in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Did Gary Lineker have to go?

Yes. He’s a high profile, household name that millions of viewers hold synonymous with the BBC. He’s also the Beeb’s highest paid on-air star. It would have been worse if he’d been a news presenter or high-profile correspondent, but after 30 years of being in the limelight he has too much influence to be anything else but squeaky clean.

Lineker says he didn’t see the image before he reposted. But someone so influential, with 1.2 million followers on Instagram, needs to do more due diligence. Ignorance is no excuse.

And let’s remember, it’s not the first time he’s fallen into hot water. There was also the incident in 2023 when he compared the then government’s asylum policy to Nazi Germany. You can make a mistake and be forgiven once, but not twice.

The BBC is a corporate brand that is publicly funded and required to be impartial. Anything to do with the Middle East is going to be controversial and the Beeb is already dealing with fallout from a documentary on Gaza, which it transpires, was voiced by the child of a Hamas official. Not surprisingly then, this latest incident is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

How well did the BBC act?

In comparison to the sometimes agonisingly long time it’s taken to react to other crises, the BBC moved quickly and the two parties clearly collaborated as to how they would present the end of their agreement. The repost was made on Monday 12 May, Gary Lineker apologised two days later and five days after that the two had parted company – no doubt following a fraught weekend involving lawyers, BBC managers and the corporation’s best PR advisers.

This Sunday was going to be the last time Lineker was to present Match of the Day but there had been plans for him to front the BBC’s FA Cup and World Cup coverage next year. While those plans are now scuppered, allowing him to front the season’s final Match of the Day is a magnanimous gesture, most likely reflecting Gary Lineker’s 30 year long, mainly good, relationship with the BBC.

The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, was quoted as saying: “Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.”

That’s as amicable as an abrupt end to an employment contract gets.

Gary Lineker’s response

When people are offended by something or someone, they want an apology. And that’s what Lineker gave them – first in writing, then in the form of a video. Sincere, authentic and genuinely upset about what had happened, were my first thoughts on seeing it.

It was stark, with a dark featureless background. There was nothing there that would detract from his facial expression and voice.

Having got an apology those offended might not forget the wrongdoing, but it’s hard to ask for anything more.

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A post shared by Gary Lineker (@garylineker)

The future

He won’t make it back to the BBC anytime soon, but there are plenty of other media organisations who believe reputationally, Lineker still has enough capital to bring in big audiences. Speculation is rife about from where the offers may come.

Lineker has a highly successful podcast production company. He has more freedom there to express himself than he ever did at the BBC. If his aim is to continue as a high-profile representative of a brand outside the Beeb, he’s probably going to have to reign in some of his opinions. Or maybe he has ambitions to be something else, in which case he has the power, and the influence, to do great things.

Match of the Day

I’m no football expert, but the programme has been on-air so long that it’s a staple of UK television and bigger than any of its hosts, however good and well-loved they are.

A new presenting line up was announced in January and I’m sure the BBC press office will soon be focusing on the positive.

Lessons that could be learnt for PRs

PR theory advocates four stages to a crisis: acknowledge, contain, repair and build. So far, the BBC and Gary Lineker have been pretty good at following the template.

In 2023 the BBC introduced new social media guidelines for those it employs. It says: “Those presenting flagship programmes on the BBC carry a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC.”

That’s all well and good, but they probably need to spell the lesson out a little clearer. No one is untouchable and no one is indispensable.

Lineker’s premature exit from the BBC comes down to his success and popularity. The problem is that everyone has a voice and a platform on social media. If you’ve only got a handful of followers, it’s not a problem. But if you’re Gary Lineker, you shouldn’t be as surprised as he seemed to be, when something he says or does goes far and wide.

Keren Haynes is co-managing director of Shout! Communications, a broadcast specialist PR agency, whose services include media training and crisis management.