Gary Lineker
Colleagues were dismayed after Lineker shared a pro-Palestine vide
o featuring an “anti-Semitic” rat emoji on Monday.
Lineker’s denial that he identified the rat, used by the Nazis as a slur against Jewish people, has failed to calm anger among critics fed up with his outspoken antics.
A group of BBC figures, speaking via a third party on condition of anonymity, say the corporation’s failure to dismiss him is “deeply upsetting to its Jewish staff”.
One Jewish member of staff, who in a previous Telegraph article claimed anti-Semitism at the BBC has become “normalised”, said: “It is quite simply disgusting that the BBC has not kicked Lineker out. His repeated offensiveness to Jewish people has clearly brought the BBC into disrepute. The interpretation of Zionism he has shared is anti-Semitic and the fact that the BBC thinks it’s acceptable is deeply upsetting to its Jewish staff, myself included.”
In response to the growing revolt, Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC, said people need to follow the broadcaster’s social media rules and that mistakes like Lineker’s “costs us” in response to a question about the presenter’s latest row.
Mr Davie, speaking at The Lowry arts centre in Salford, said: “The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.
“And I think we absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.”
A cartoon image of a rat, which sparked the new furore, had accompanied a video in which Canadian-Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu attacked Israel’s war in Gaza.
It had been shared by Lineker on his Instagram story on Monday before being deleted by Tuesday morning. A spokesman for Lineker told Telegraph Sport that he immediately deleted the video after learning of the symbolic meaning.
“Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post,” he added. “Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”
Campaigners and some colleagues expressed some scepticism at the explanation, however. In January last year, he removed a social media post calling for Israel to be banned from international football, having apparently misunderstood the message.
Reflecting on the new row, another BBC insider said the corporation had missed “perfect opportunity” to part ways with Lineker when he was suspended for comments about the previous Government.
“He’s the perfect example of someone who doesn’t think the rules apply to them and abuses them at every turn − the type highlighted in the culture review, published no more than a fortnight ago,” the staffer source.
Another staffer added “The BBC’s endless willingness to overlook his apparent antisemitism dressed as Palestinian advocacy constantly makes Jewish staff feel how little they matter to the corporation. Perhaps Lineker lacks the sophistication to know the difference but what’s senior management’s excuse?”
A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism added on Wednesday: “Gary Lineker is playing the public for fools by pretending to be one. He claims to want to spread awareness about events in the Middle East but also claims to be so ignorant as to be unaware of the dehumanising connotations of a rat symbol... The BBC has turned a blind eye for too long. It is long past time for him to go, and he must go now.”
The rat post had been taken down by the time it had been brought to Telegraph Sport’s attention on Tuesday. However, screengrabs taken by one Instagram user at 8pm on Monday showed that Lineker had initially shared the video seven hours earlier that afternoon.
With Lineker leaving his Match of the Day hosting duties at the end of the Premier League season later this month − he will continue to present FA Cup and international football until next summer − the BBC had already been urged to axe the former England captain and not let him go on his own terms.
Danny Cohen, former director of BBC television, told Telegraph Sport: “Gary Lineker appears to have shared content about the Jewish State which echoes Nazi propaganda. This is utterly grim.
“The BBC’s director general Tim Davie has a simple question to answer: does he tolerate the BBC’s flagship presenters sharing content that has historically been used as an anti-Semitic slur?”
Lineker, who earned £1.35 million in BBC pay last year, is lauded as an accomplished broadcaster, but is also an increasingly divisive figure among viewers.
The post comes weeks after Lineker, the former England captain, defended his right to express his opinions on issues such as Gaza in an interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan.
His comments in 2023, in which he said on social media that language used by the then-Conservative government “is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s” triggered a BBC suspension and a mass walkout of BBC Sport staff, before new rules regarding social media use were published by the broadcaster.
It is unclear what action the BBC is taking over the deleted post. The BBC said it would not comment on individuals although a source pointed out the post had been deleted. The insider also drew attention to the corporation’s social media guidelines which state those “presenting flagship programmes on the BBC carry a particular responsibility to help to balance commitments to both freedom of expression and impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC”.
“This responsibility extends to their use of social media, both for professional and for personal use, during the periods when these flagship programmes are on air, and for a two-week window before and after the series,” the rules add.
Lineker’s spokesman has been contacted for a response.