BBC Insiders breathe a sigh of relief after loose Cannon Gary Lineker finally gets the bullet, writes Mike Keegan

From the stifling heat of the Azteca stadium from Mexico to the air conditioning of the Match of the Day’s Salford Studio, Gary Lineker Made a career by making the right call.

Whether he stealed behind the defense of Argentina to score the goal that he would win a Golden Boot from World Cup, or one of the most iconic sports shows of Great -Britain in his underpants after his beloved Leicester City secure the unlikely thing about it Premier League Titles, he had a certain talent.

Recently, Knack has left the 64-year-old, in the first place with his decision in March 2023 to get out of his job and to criticize the new asylum policy of the then government.

By the BBCImpartiality is king – opinions of those in the sports department must be in sports, not on politics. There is a clear code and an understandable nervousness about disturbing those who contribute to the maintenance of Aunt.

That the suspension that followed led to a walk-out of apparent support staff, only worsened things. Many felt ‘backwards in a corner’ with little option, but to follow the golden boy out the door. When the suspension of Lineker was lifted, the bad taste lingered.

Lineker did not learn from his wrong step. In February he was working on it again, this time as one of the 500 high -profile figures who signed an open letter in which the BBC was encouraged to deepen a documentary, Gaza: How to Survive A Warzone, on IPLayer. It had emerged that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of one Hamas official.

Gary Lineker will leave the BBC after sharing a message about Zionism with a rat

The former striker of England made the announcement on social media on Monday morning

Lineker hurled in front of the fence – only for his payment masters there were no home runs. Instead, a third strike arrived, which arrived last week, and he was gone.

Lineker insists that he is not anti-Semitic and that he shared an Instagram post about Zionism without realizing that it contained a particularly harmful image of a rat, the animal used to represent Jews in anti-Semitic propaganda in history, including by the Nazis in Germany from 1930.

Almost immediately his position was considered ‘untenable’. It caused serious shame for BBC director-general Tim Davie, who was sought from director of Sport Alex Kay-Jelski, who had criticized Lineker in a recent newspaper interview.

Only last week did Davie gave a speech about trust, disinformation and impartiality in the Lowry Center near the BBC’s Mediaconity Home in Salford. “The reputation of the BBC is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us,” he told the audience. “We absolutely need people to be the examples of BBC values ​​and to follow our policy for social media, so simple.”

Davie was quick to act after Lineker’s last violation and hastily arranged a series of meetings. It is thought that he led to the decision to separate the company with Lineker now, with the full support of Kay-Jelski.

The situation was the conversation of the building on the BBC’s Salford and London Bases. Many of the employees fully support the decision.

“There is a sense of relief,” said an employee. ‘We are subject to strict rules about what we can and cannot say and there was a feeling that Gary could do what he wanted. Now nobody will brace themselves for what he places afterwards. ‘

The prospect that Lineker broadcast such polarizing views for another 12 months – before he was invited to organize the coverage of the BBC’s World Cup – was considered ‘just indigestible’.

Lineker shared a reel on Instagram that was created with the Pro-Palestinian group Palestine Lobby

The prospect of Lineker who was still polarizing views for the staff for 12 months was a concern for the staff

In the first announcement of Lineker’s planned departure, details of a license agreement between the BBC and his podcast production company. That agreement was for a year – and will not be extended. Lineker’s repost costs him hundreds of thousands.

Whether he will appear elsewhere next summer is still to be seen, but one studio where you will not see Lineker is that of Qatari ownership Bein, the home of Richard Keys and Andy Gray after they left Sky in 2011 in the midst of a sexism furore.

Lineker, who was a pronounced critic of the Qatar World Cup, had previously caught £ 1.6 million to work for the sports broadcaster of the Gulf State. When he gave then

A ‘virtue-signaling’ monologue prior to the opening match in 2022, as a result of which the record of the host over migrating employees and immigration overlooks, furious bosses.

What is concerned Sky? “Very unlikely,” said an insider. Why? Because earlier this month he told the times of their coverage: ‘They can spend 20 minutes on covering a corner. It’s not for me. ‘His comments did not go unnoticed on Sky HQ. ITV are the favorites of the Bookmakers.

Lineker is being replaced on Match of the Day by Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman, who will probably also intervene for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Lineker started as a BBC Radio 5 Live presenter and also worked on the stands during his early years in broadcast. This is not the end he had hoped for.

Within the building, attention is located on his Sunday shipping and there is a desire to do things in the right way. Regardless of Lineker’s exit, his service and lifespan cannot be questioned.

It is said that Lineker is deeply sad and now has someone to find a chance to take him

Davie e -mailed Monday at 12.06 pm the staff and shared the press release that had been sent to the media. Moments later a note from Kay-Jelski fell.

It said: ‘You will see that Gary Lineker will leave the BBC at the end of the season. I appreciate that the last week has been difficult and emotional for many of you. Thank you for the messages and conversations, even if some of them were not easy to have.

‘It is sad to say goodbye to such a brilliant broadcaster and I want to thank Gary for his years of service. As always, if you have questions, you know where I am.

“Let’s finish the season strongly with the last show of Gary and look forward to what awaits us.”

It is said that Lineker is deeply sad. His representatives did not respond to requests for comments.

Can he rediscover the touch that served him so well? The first task will find someone who is willing to take a chance – a skill that he once excelled.