Lineker Stepping Down from BBC 'Match of the Day'

[Mark Jeffries]

Gary Lineker, the former soccer player who is the BBC's star commentator on the sport, is leaving the Beeb's Saturday night fixture "Match of the Day" at the end of the current Premier League season after 26 years as host (not counting a brief period where he was suspended for a social media post comparing the Boris Johnson government to Nazi Germany)--he'll continue to anchor the Beeb's World Cup and FA Cup coverage:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/12/business/media/gary-lineker-bbc-soccer-motd.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Zk4.6-DM.PZNXAv6CRd4E&smid=url-share

Back when "Match of the Day" started in 1964, it was the only soccer you could see on TV in the UK and the fact that the show continues to be a successful in a world where you can watch every Premier League match on satellite and streaming is that it's the only place on OTA in the UK where you can watch the Premier League, even if just highlights--and the commentary of Lineker and his sidekicks is obviously another reason.