Lineker finally apologises to Lampard two years after viral balding jibe on live TV

Gary Lineker has apologised to Frank Lampard two years after an on-air quip about the former Chelsea and England midfielder’s receding hairline went viral during the BBC’s Euro 2024 coverage in Berlin.

The moment finally arrived on Lineker’s Rest is Football podcast, where Lampard appeared as a guest alongside Joe Cole and Alan Shearer. Before the panel turned to World Cup analysis, the 65-year-old presenter addressed the long-standing awkwardness head-on.

“I owe you an apology. It’s taken me two years to do it,” Lineker told Lampard, recounting how the original incident unfolded when a camera positioned behind the studio desk captured the back of both men’s heads during the Euros broadcast. Lineker had been heard muttering that he was “thinning a little bit on the top” and questioning whether the shot was a good idea — with Lampard sitting right beside him.

Lampard, now head coach at Coventry City, took the belated peace offering in good humour. “Have you gone there already?” he laughed, before adding: “You’ve sat me between Joe and Alan — I thought that was your version of an apology. I’m fine. My day job means they’re looking at the back of my head so they let me know all the time.”

Lineker had previously acknowledged the gaffe during the Rest is Football’s Euros coverage, admitting he had “got himself in a bit of a pickle” and that the clip had “gone a little bit viral.” The clip spread widely on social media at the time, with viewers amused by Lampard’s deadpan reaction as Lineker’s comment landed.

The apology, though two years in the making, appeared to draw a line under the episode — with both men laughing off what had become one of the more memorable off-the-cuff moments from last summer’s tournament coverage.