Gary Lineker drops ‘shut the f*** up’ response to BBC ‘traitor’ rant after ITV surprise
Former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker left the BBC in a controversial manner last year and made a surprise appearance on ITV’s World Cup coverage
Gary Lineker made a surprise appearance on ITV’s World Cup coverage, firing several digs at the BBC.(Image: ITV Sport)
Gary Lineker fired a blunt response to the BBC after appearing on ITV’s World Cup coverage, cheekily telling Micah Richards to ‘f*** off’ after being dubbed a ‘traitor’. The former England international, who spent over two decades working for the BBC, joined the broadcaster’s arch-rivals for a cameo appearance on Saturday ahead of Germany’s clash with Ivory Coast.
Lineker took just a few seconds to fire a dig at his former employers, claiming the ITV was ‘absolutely amazing’ in contrast to the BBC’s remote setup, following his controversial departure from the company last year. The former Match of the Day presenter has been following the tournament from New York, where he has been hosting daily editions of The Rest Is Football for Netflix.
Lineker had initially intended to continue his involvement with the BBC’s World Cup output after departing Match of the Day, but it emerged in May last year that he would be severing all ties with the organisation. As ITV launched their live coverage on Saturday evening, Lineker remarked: “Thank you for joining us on ITV for this one, another day, another game, another channel.”
Presenter Laura Woods then interrupted: “Woah, woah, woah Gary that’s my job,” before Lineker responded: “Sorry, sorry, old habits Laura, old habits.”
The ITV appearance drew plenty of attention from viewers who loved seeing Lineker back on their TV screens discussing the football, despite it only being brief. Now, on his own Netflix show, Lineker and Micah Richards made light of his appearance as an ITV pundit.
Richards, copying Lineker’s appearance on ITV, introduced the podcast and said: “Hello and welcome to the Rest Is Football with me Micah Richards.”
Gary Lineker disappeared very quickly into his ITV cameo for the World Cup(Image: ITV)
Lineker quickly interrupted his fellow co-host and said “Woah, woah, woah, woah. Micah that’s my job,” followed by laughter from the pair.
“It’s not nice is it?” Richards said, appearing on a TV monitor. “Absolute traitor you are. 26 years of blood, sweat and tears to the BBC then you go over to the rival.”
Lineker responds: “Hang on a minute Micah. Shut the f*** up (before turning the TV off Richards was appearing on). I’ll do it properly now.”
When Richards did return to the programme, he asked Lineker what he was doing on ITV. The former England striker explained, with a wry smile on his face: “I was making an appearance to promote my show ‘The Box’ which is also on ITV in September.
“And also I wanted to go and have a little look at the studio. I also wanted to go and promote our Netflix show which I got two mentions in for. It was just for purely professional reasons Micah.”
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Richards was having none of it. He said: “Professional reasons? Come on Gaz. You’re better than that.”
“Says the person that works for pretty much every television channel known to man,” Lineker quipped back.
The pair continued their light hearted banter with Lineker recording a blog from behind the scenes. During the segement, he said: “Whatever you read isn’t necessarily true, I’m not a pundit for the whole tournament because I’ve got a Netflix show everyday.”
There are several digs aimed at the BBC with Lineker claiming he could “confirm it’s real” before receiving a head massage which you “don’t get this at the BBC.”
