Lineker reveals he snubbed Putin meeting and cut ties with Fifa over discomfort

Gary Lineker turned down a request to meet Vladimir Putin during the 2018 World Cup draw ceremony in Moscow in December 2017, and has now revealed that the encounter convinced him to sever his working relationship with football’s governing body entirely.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, the former England striker and broadcaster explained that fellow ex-professionals Pelé, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho all met the Russian president during the draw proceedings, but that he excused himself by citing preparation work on the running script.

“They wanted me to meet Vladimir Putin and I thought: ‘I don’t want to do that,’” Lineker said. “And I just told them: ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got so much to do with the script. I’m trying to get it all ready.’ And then I felt it was a slightly uncomfortable position.”

Lineker said the moment crystallised a broader decision to keep his distance from Fifa, which he has maintained since the early part of this decade. He cited his media role as a key reason, arguing that editorial independence requires avoiding any appearance of being influenced from within the organisation.

“I made the decision quite a few years ago to not be associated with Fifa in any way, deliberately, because particularly with the fact that I’m in the media,” he said. “I think it’s better if you’re not influenced from the inside. And I think it has probably proved a reasonable decision in hindsight.”

Lineker’s comments arrive as Fifa president Gianni Infantino continues to face criticism following his abandoned plan to sell off stakes in Fifa competitions, yet still intends to stand for a fourth term in office.

The former Match of the Day presenter used the interview to call for structural reform at the top of the organisation, arguing that term limits similar to those applied to the United States presidency would reduce the concentration of power.

“It’s ludicrous that someone can be a consistent president of Fifa,” he said. “I think you can serve one term — one World Cup or even two, but no more than that — because otherwise you provoke this sort of behaviour if you get some kind of rogue guy at the top who loses his sense of decency.”

Lineker also suggested a rotation system in which representatives from different parts of the world hold the presidency for a fixed period, though he acknowledged the precise structure remained an open question.