Gary Lineker has said BBC “capitulated to lobbying” when it removed a controversial documentary on Gaza from its iPlayer platform, defending the film and its 13-year-old narrator despite revelations about his family ties to Hamas.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC journalist Amol Rajan, the former England footballer and long-standing host of Match of the Day expressed unwavering support for the film Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, which was taken down by the broadcaster following concerns that the young narrator, Abdullah, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, a senior official in the Hamas-run government.
Lineker, 64, who is stepping down from Match of the Day after 25 years at the end of this season said he “100 per cent” supported reinstating the documentary, calling it “incredibly moving” and criticising the BBC’s handling of the backlash.
“I think you let people make their own minds up,” he said. “We’re adults. We’re allowed to see things like that. It’s incredibly moving… I think [the BBC] just capitulated to lobbying that they get a lot.”
Pressed on whether it was problematic that the boy narrating the film is the son of a Hamas official, Lineker was dismissive.
“I don’t think so, no,” he replied, adding that he would still sign the open letter condemning the documentary’s removal, which was endorsed by more than 500 media figures.
The BBC had previously admitted to “a number of serious failings” in its commissioning and editorial process in relation to the programme. But Lineker argued the corporation had overreacted to external pressure, particularly from critics of the BBC.
“I think this is the mistake… the BBC tries to appease the people that hate the BBC – the people that always go on about the licence fee, attack the BBC. They worry way too much about that, rather than worry about the people that love the BBC, which is the vast majority.”
The remarks come amid Lineker’s increasing willingness to make political interventions, a stance that has led to tension with BBC bosses in recent years. In 2023, he was temporarily suspended from presenting after comparing government rhetoric on asylum seekers to language used in 1930s Germany.
“I don’t regret saying them publicly, because I was right – what I said, it was accurate,” he told Rajan. “Would I, in hindsight, do it again? No, I wouldn’t, because of all the nonsense that came with it… It was a ridiculous overreaction that was just a reply to someone that was being very rude. And I wasn’t particularly rude back.”
The corporation later clarified its impartiality guidelines, with Lineker arguing that, as a freelancer, they should never have applied to him.
“They were for people in news and current affairs – they have subsequently changed,” he said. “That left me, who always gave these honest opinions about things, having to be impartial, which didn’t make any sense. It’s a freedom of speech issue.”
On his departure from Match of the Day, Lineker claimed that he was effectively pushed out. “Well, perhaps they wanted me to leave,” he said. “There was the sense of that.”
He added that while discussions about a new contract began last year, no deal was ultimately offered. “I would have stayed,” he admitted. “But I wasn’t given that opportunity.”
Lineker now plans to focus on his podcast company.
Despite speculation, the former Tottenham and Leicester striker ruled out entering politics. “I’ve never had a view,” he joked.
Lineker remains the BBC’s highest-paid presenter, earning £1.35 million in 2023/24, according to the corporation’s most recent annual report.
