Lineker set to appear as ITV pundit at World Cup after 26-year BBC career ends

Gary Lineker is set to appear as a pundit on ITV’s World Cup coverage this weekend, marking a striking move to the BBC’s direct rival just months after his high-profile departure from the corporation where he spent 26 years.

Lineker cut ties with the BBC in 2025 following a social media incident in which he unknowingly shared a post containing an anti-Semitic trope. He had originally been scheduled to anchor the BBC’s 2026 World Cup coverage, but both parties agreed he would step away from all future sports presenting after his final season hosting Match of the Day.

The former England striker has not been shy about criticising his old employer since leaving. He publicly mocked the BBC’s decision to base its World Cup studio in Salford, Greater Manchester, rather than broadcasting from North America, joking that staying would have left him working from a restrictive “green box.” BBC presenter Gabby Logan defended the choice, citing the prohibitive cost of flying a studio setup overseas, while BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski argued the public would not notice a difference in quality and that spending licence fee money on a Dallas studio would be difficult to justify. The corporation subsequently revealed a high-tech Salford facility featuring a large panoramic screen and augmented reality elements designed to replicate the skylines of the 16 host cities.

Lineker has remained active since his BBC exit. He signed a £14 million deal with Netflix to broadcast The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, with the trio recording daily episodes from a studio in New York City during the tournament. He has also moved into light entertainment as host of a new ITV game show, The Box, in which celebrity contestants are locked inside yellow boxes and transported to unknown locations to complete challenges.

His reported ITV punditry role adds a pointed dimension to his post-BBC chapter. On his podcast, Lineker has already praised ITV for not cutting to commercial breaks during FIFA’s mandated three-minute player hydration intervals — a subtle but pointed contrast with the broadcaster he left behind.