Ex-England striker Gary Lineker to leave BBC after social media post on Zionism
Gary Lineker, a former England captain and the face of soccer on British television for over two decades, will leave the BBC, the broadcaster said in a statement on Monday.
Advertisement
Lineker, 64, had been due to cover the 2026 World Cup for the broadcaster, but his early departure comes after he apologised last week for sharing a social media post from the group, Palestine Lobby, illustrated with a picture of a rat, titled: 'Zionism explained in two minutes.'
Rats, linked to disease and dirt, have been used to represent Jews in antisemitic propaganda throughout history, including by the Nazis in the 1930s Germany.
He rose to become the BBC's highest paid star after presenting its Match of the Day highlights show for 25 years. The BBC announced last November he would step down from the programme this year but carry on working for it until 2026.
Gary Lineker smiles as he takes his seat in the Royal Box on Centre Court at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London in July 2023. Photo: AP
'Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season,' BBC director general Tim Davie said in a statement.
Advertisement
Lineker repeated his apology, saying he would never consciously repost anything antisemitic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Bollywood dance video filmed at Oxford University goes viral on Instagram
A group of current and former Oxford University students have become an online sensation after a Bollywood-style video shot around the prestigious British campus went viral. The performance involving about seven friends was shot to Desi Boyz, the title track of the 2011 romantic comedy of the same name starring Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh. The idea for the clip came from Druv Punjabi, an Oxford alumnus who was born and raised in Hong Kong. 'This is something I had wanted to do for a long time,' says Punjabi by phone from Dubai, where he is now based. 'We really wanted to show off Oxford and the surrounding cityscape, so when the university said they were keen to collaborate it came as a bit of a shock.' Another shock was to follow, with the video blowing up online. So far it has racked up more than 240,000 views.
South China Morning Post
20 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Listen Up: 32,000 children audition for lead roles in HBO's new ‘Harry Potter' series
Questions 1. What was the purpose of the casting call? A. to find writers B. to choose the leading actors C. to ask fans for ideas for the series D. to announce the release date of the series 2. How many children auditioned for the role of Hermione Granger? A. 500 B. 1,000 C. 32,000 D. information not given 3. Which word can replace 'lead' at the beginning of the podcast? A. important B. small C. first D. minor 4. What was the age requirement for the child actors? A. younger than five B. nine, 10 or 11 C. older than 11 D. at least 13 5. What does the 'titular' role in the podcast refer to? A. Daniel Radcliffe B. Dominic McLaughlin C. the character of Harry Potter D. the film Harry Potter 6. Who is playing the character of Albus Dumbledore in the HBO series? A. Paapa Essiedu B. Paul Whitehouse C. Luke Thallon D. John Lithgow 7. What role will Rowling have in the HBO series? A. director B. manager C. executive producer D. scriptwriter 8. Which of the following best describes the series? A. It will closely follow the original books. B. It will only feature a small part of the books. C. It will be very different from the original books. D. none of the above 9. How many people are there in a 'trio'? A. two B. three C. five D. seven 10. Which of these is not mentioned in the podcast as an expansion of the Harry Potter franchise? A. a stage play B. Fantastic Beasts movies C. theme park areas D. an animated series 11. Using information from the podcast, complete the following profile of the three leading actors. (4 marks) Dominic McLaughlin Before getting the main role as (i) __________, he studied acting in Scotland for (ii) __________. Alastair Stout The role of (iii) __________ is his first big acting job. Arabella Stanton The actress will play Hermione Granger. She acted in a (iv) __________ in London from 2023 to 2024. She was also in another play called Starlight Express. Each season of the HBO show will be based on one of these seven bestselling books. Photo: Shutterstock Answers 1. B 2. D 3. A 4. B 5. C 6. D 7. C 8. A 9. B 10. D 11. (i) Harry Potter; (ii) five years; (iii) Ron Weasley; (iv) musical Script Adapted from Tribune News Service and dpa Voice 1: The new HBO series based on Harry Potter has cast its main characters: Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. A casting call announced in September of last year attracted around 32,000 children who auditioned for the lead roles. According to HBO, the casting team reviewed up to 1,000 audition tapes each day. Voice 2: Dominic McLaughlin will play the brave Harry. Arabella Stanton will portray the clever Hermione. Alastair Stout will take on the role of the clumsy Ron. It was previously stated that the three young actors must be residents of either the United Kingdom or Ireland and be between the ages of nine and 11 as of April 2025. Filming is set to begin this summer, with the show scheduled to premiere next year. According to HBO, the three children are newcomers to the industry. Voice 1: Before landing the titular role in Harry Potter, Dominic studied at the Performance Academy Scotland for five years. He is set to appear in the upcoming BBC series Gifted, which follows Scottish teens who discover they have superpowers. Additionally, he will feature in the Sky film Grow, which tells the story of a grumpy pumpkin farmer and her orphaned niece. Voice 2: Harry Potter marks Alastair's first major role, and his only other credited appearance is in a commercial for Albert Bartlett potatoes. Arabella played Matilda Wormwood in Matilda the Musical in London's West End from 2023 to 2024. The English actress also portrayed the narrator Control in Andrew Lloyd Webber's play Starlight Express in 2024. Voice 1: The previously announced cast members include John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. Janet McTeer has been cast as Minerva McGonagall, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch. Voice 2: Author J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts and David Heyman will serve as executive producers for the HBO series. Each season of the show will faithfully adapt one of the Harry Potter books. The novels were previously adapted into films featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as the central trio. Voice 1: Along with the seven bestselling books and eight blockbuster films, the franchise also gave rise to the Fantastic Beasts movie prequels featuring Eddie Redmayne, the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and areas at the Universal theme parks.
South China Morning Post
20 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Spark Study Buddy (Challenger): 'How to Train Your Dragon' soars with charm
Content provided by British Council [1] The DreamWorks animated film How to Train Your Dragon, based on Cressida Cowell's book, has already had two sequels. Fifteen years later, it is getting a remake. [2] Set on the island of Berk, where Vikings see dragons as enemies, this new version is similar to the last one. Hiccup (Mason Thames) is a blacksmith's apprentice and the weak son of the island's chief (Gerard Butler, who voiced the character in the 2010 film). [3] Desperate to please his father, he joins dragon training with his love interest Astrid (Nico Parker). They are tutored by the wily Gobber the Belch (Nick Frost) in an effort to become 'top slayer'. [4] The real fun starts when Hiccup secretly becomes friends with a young black dragon named Toothless. He learns to fly on the dragon, leading to exciting scenes as they soar around the island. While his father and others search for the dragons to kill them, Hiccup tries to find a way to make peace. [5] Back directing is Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the 2010 original with Chris Sanders and has since overseen the franchise. The latter served as an executive producer in the latest remake. To his credit, DeBlois fully understands what makes us tick, especially the rendering of Toothless – the dragon sways between cute and volatile. The blend of computer-generated animation and live-action is seamless, as we've come to expect. [6] What does work well here is the cast. Thames has a likeable, cartoonish face and works well with the tough Butler, who adds a weary depth to his character. Hiccup's fellow trainees are also entertaining, especially Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, who shares quick dragon facts, and Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut with his unique appearance. [7] With some scenes replicated shot for shot, there is every chance this will match the original's US$494 million (around HK$3.9 billion) global box office takings. However, it is let down by an indulgent running time. The film is needlessly 20 minutes longer than its predecessor. This leaves it feeling less sharp than the original DeBlois-Sanders production, especially in its bloated final third. One can only hope that the latest version of How to Train Your Dragon is not in line for a remake, for the novelty will have really worn off. Source: South China Morning Post, June 9 Questions 1. Vikings … dragons, according to paragraph 1. A. do not get along with B. coexist peacefully C. frequently hunt together with D. generally ignore 2. In paragraph 2, where does the story of How to Train Your Dragon take place? 3. Based on paragraph 3, what does Hiccup do to make his father proud of him? 4. The phrase 'broker peace' in paragraph 4 refers to Hiccup … A. learning how to fly a dragon by himself. B. making friends with 'Toothless' and getting the dragon to trust him. C. bringing about an end to the conflict between the Vikings and the dragons. D. all of the above 5. What does the writer dislike about How to Train Your Dragon, according to paragraph 7? 6. Whom do the following words from paragraph 5 refer to? (i) who (ii) latter (iii) we've 'How to Train Your Dragon' has a charming cast, but its lengthy runtime dulls the original's spark. Photo: Universal Pictures Answers 1. A 2. on the island of Berk 3. He joins dragon training in an effort to become 'top slayer'. 4. C 5. It runs for too long. (accept all similar answers) 6. (i) Dean DeBlois; (ii) Chris Sanders; (iii) the audience
