Gary Lineker held back tears as he signed off from his final edition of Match of the Day after 26 years in the hot seat and officially left the BBC. The host announced in November that he would leave the football show at the end of the Premier League season, which concluded on Sunday. He had been due to remain with the BBC to front coverage of the men's FA Cup and the World Cup, but has now left the corporation completely after apologising for sharing an antisemitic social media post. On his swansong, Lineker apparently made a nod to the controversy, opening the show by saying "it wasn't meant to end this way" - before going on to turn the line into a reference to the final day of the season.

Source: The Times May 27, 2025 02:51 UTC