Gary Lineker, the former England soccer player and now a media celebrity, will leave his role as a presenter for the BBC after facing criticism for reposting an Instagram story about Zionism which featured a picture of a rat.

Soccer pundit Gary Lineker will leave the BBC sooner than planned following an antisemitism row, the corporation has confirmed.

Lineker, a former footballer who is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter and was slated to lead its World Cup coverage in 2026, shared a video last week about Zionism featuring an illustration of a rat, historically a common antisemitic trope, sparking a storm of criticism.