Lineker cuts Richards off mid-debate in foul-mouthed on-air exchange during World Cup coverage

Gary Lineker silenced Micah Richards mid-argument during Netflix’s World Cup coverage by telling him to ‘shut the f*** up’ and literally switching off the screen he was appearing on, drawing loud laughter from the studio.

The exchange erupted during a discussion about Mexico’s opening win against South Africa — a match that produced three red cards — when Lineker used the moment to air a grievance about referees appearing in broadcast commentary.

‘My new pet hate in broadcasting is referees in co-commentaries,’ Lineker said. ‘They are taking over our game. They are defining the laws. They are imposing themselves on our matches and now they are imposing themselves on commentary.’

Richards, joining the show via an on-set screen, pushed back. ‘I disagree with that,’ he said. ‘When they come back to the studio and you’ve got to get the terminology right and the laws — and you’ve got a referee who can deal with all of that.’

Lineker’s response was swift. He told Richards to ‘shut the f*** up, will you?’ before cutting his feed entirely. When Richards was allowed back on screen later in the broadcast, Lineker greeted him with: ‘I’ve let you back in but that’s your final warning, okay?’ — before adding, with a grin, ‘Don’t disagree with me. I love that power. I wish I could do it to Al [Alan Shearer].’

The broadcast also produced a separate moment of levity when Lineker took the opportunity to apologise to Frank Lampard for a joke he had made two years earlier. Introducing Lampard and Joe Cole alongside Alan Shearer, Lineker quipped that it was fortunate the fans were at street level ‘otherwise they’d be looking at the back of our heads, Frank.’ Lampard laughed and replied: ‘Have you gone there already?’

Lineker then explained the callback: two years prior, a camera had caught him fretting about his thinning hair while Lampard sat beside him, suppressing a smile. ‘I owe you an apology,’ Lineker said. ‘It’s taken me two years to do it.’

Lineker and Richards are part of Netflix’s version of The Rest Is Football, which the streaming platform is running throughout the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.