Gary Lineker takes swipe at BBC over having set in England emphasising ITV backdrop 'is real'

Gary Lineker appeared to take a swipe at the BBC over having its set in England, emphasising that the ITV backdrop "is real".

The former Match of the Day host made a guest appearance on ITV's coverage of Germany against the Ivory Coast, alongside host Laura Woods, and pundits Duncan Ferguson, Gary Neville and Ian Wright.

Lineker, 65, who was with the BBC for 26 years, was welcomed to New York by Woods and "the ITV family".

In response, Lineker appeared to take a dig at the BBC for having its broadcasting studio for the World Cup in Salford.

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He said: "I've been doing a show daily for Netflix at Times Square.

"But I did desperately want to come and see your set because I think it is absolutely amazing, and I can confirm that it's real.

"So you've got the backdrop, and obviously I wanted to see [Ian] Wrighty because I haven't seen him for a little while."

Lineker was previously outspoken about the BBC choosing to stay in England for the World Cup, describing their studio as a "green box in Salford".

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He expressed no regrets about missing out on anchoring the BBC's coverage of the tournament, saying: "I was originally going to do it for the BBC this summer, but that didn't transpire.

"And I would have been in Salford in a green box, and now I'm going to be in New York City overlooking Times Square with lots of great guests."

BBC host Gabby Logan responded to her former colleague's comments, saying: "We did the Women's Euros - last Euros - like this where we were in the studio in Salford and then we went out for the latter stages.

"That's a very expensive cost to take out a lot of people to major tournaments. So we have to think about that. The belt is being tightened all the time, as you know, with the licence fee.

"So there's lots of good reasons why we do that.

"And I think our coverage has been exceptional in those tournaments and award-winning in the case of last week's Baftas, so I don't think it's harmed our coverage to not be there for the whole tournament."

Lineker's tenure came to an abrupt end in May 2025 following sustained criticism of his activity on social media.

The controversy centred on political posts, including what the former England striker described as the unwitting sharing of an Instagram image depicting a rat, a symbol with antisemitic connotations.

The BBC's highest-paid presenter of all time apologised in response to the outcry over the post.

He departed the corporation at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, bringing his long-standing relationship with the public broadcaster to a close.

Following his BBC exit, Lineker secured a deal with Netflix, reportedly valued at £14million, to front The Rest Is Football podcast, produced through his company Goalhanger.

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