GARY Lineker’s BBC exit is set to spark an intense rivalry between his Match Of The Day successors over who will lead the World Cup coverage.
Insiders said that Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates will also be competing to take the main presenting job for next year’s FA Cup Final.
Ray CollinsGary Lineker’s BBC exit is set to spark rivalry between his MOTD successors over who will lead the 2026 World Cup coverage[/caption]
Gary, 64, announced he was leaving the BBC early following an anti-Semitism rowPA
The bookies currently have Kelly Cates, 49, as the frontrunner with odds of 2/1Getty – Contributor
Lineker, 63, yesterday confirmed The Sun’s story about his departure — announcing he was leaving the BBC early following an anti-Semitism row.
It scuppered plans for Mark, 51, Gabby, 52, and Kelly, 49, to have supporting roles alongside him at his swansong during next summer’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
A source said: “Now Gary’s gone there has to be a lead anchor for the World Cup coverage.
“Mark, Gabby and Kelly can definitely share the duties between them but it will boil down to who gets the big games.
“For example, who will be taking the lead role on the final — which will be the game they all want to be the leading voice on.
“Mark, Gabby and Kelly are friends but they will be positioning themselves in the coming months because, naturally, it’s a competitive job and who wouldn’t want to be the frontrunner?
“It’s become an inside joke that it’ll be like something out of Game of Thrones — with all of them vying to take the lead.”
Insiders said the lead presenter for the FA Cup Final coverage next May, a month before the World Cup, is also up for grabs.
The bookies currently have Kelly as the frontrunner with odds of 2/1, while Mark and Gabby are both at 3/1. The three will share normal MOTD presenting duties next season.
Our source added: “Mark, Gabby and Kelly are all excellent broadcasters so it’s not going to be an easy decision to make.
“They can do the MOTD job-share fine but when it comes to the prestige of holding up the coverage for those major events, it’s inevitable someone’s nose is going to be put out of joint.”
Former England striker Lineker is stepping down after Sunday’s MOTD, ending a 26-year career with the BBC.
He sparked fury after sharing an online post criticising Zionism, and illustrated with a rat.
Gary repeatedly apologised in a video statement yesterday.
GettyMark Chapman, 51, is also in the lead to host BBC’s World Cup coverage[/caption]
PAGabby Logan, 52, will also be competing with the other hosts to take the main presenting job for next year’s FA Cup Final[/caption]
He said: “I care deeply about the game, and about the work I’ve done with the BBC over many years.
“As I’ve said, I’d never consciously repost anything anti-Semitic — it goes against everything I stand for.
“However, I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”
BBC Director General Tim Davie called him a “defining voice in football coverage”.
He added: “Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made. Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season.”
How Gary Lineker became the BBC’s highest paid star
Gary Lineker has hosted Match Of The Day for more than 25 years but will leave the role earlier than expected following a row over his use of social media.
The Leicester-born star, who moved seamlessly from footballer to one of the most famous and highly-paid presenters at the corporation, began his career at Leicester City, the club he had supported since childhood, in 1978.
The 64-year-old striker scored 103 goals for the Foxes in all competitions before signing with Everton for £800,000 in 1985.
He scored 40 goals in 57 games for the Toffees in his only season with the Liverpool-based side, before his six goals for England at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico won him the competition’s golden boot award and attracted the attention of Spanish football giants Barcelona.
Moving to the Catalan side in 1986, Lineker went on to become the highest scoring British player in La Liga, Spain’s highest football division, under English manager Terry Venables.
His record 42 goals was only beaten by Welsh winger Gareth Bale in 2016.
Lineker spent three years in Spain before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1989 for £1.1 million.
He played a part in England’s run to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, which resulted in a defeat on penalties against West Germany.
After the match, Lineker, who captained the Lions from 1990 to 1992, coined the phrase: “Football is a simple game: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.”
He won the 1991 FA Cup final with Spurs, beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 despite having a goal controversially disallowed for offside and Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley saving a penalty.
In 1992, Lineker became the first English footballer to play in Japan’s highest division, the J League, when he joined Nagoya Grampus Eight for £2 million.
He retired after an injury-hit two-year spell at the club which saw him play just 23 times.
Throughout his career Lineker was renowned for never receiving a yellow or red card booking from the referee.
Following his retirement, Lineker joined BBC Radio 5 Live as a football pundit before becoming a team captain on the sports game show They Think It’s All Over from 1995 to 2003.
In 1997 he took over as host of Grandstand when then-presenter Desmond Lynam was at Aintree for the Grand National which was abandoned due to a bomb alert.
He replaced Lynam as presenter of the BBC’s flagship football highlights programme Match Of The Day in 1999, when Lynam defected to rival ITV.
Lineker would later become the corporation’s highest-paid presenter, with the BBC’s annual report for 2023/24 showing his salary to be to around £1.35 million a year.
He was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government’s new asylum policy.
In November 2024 he announced he would be stepping down from presenting Match Of The Day at the end of the season, but would still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage.
He exited the broadcaster early, however, after apologising for sharing and then deleting a post on his Instagram account from the group Palestine Lobby, illustrated with a picture of a rat, which prompted calls for him to be sacked from the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
After this the BBC said Lineker would leave his presenting role following the conclusion of Match Of The Day for the 2024/25 season and added that he would not present its coverage of the 2026 World Cup or next season’s FA Cup.
Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman will share the presenting role on the football show from the next Premier League season.
The former England striker is also the co-founder of Goalhanger Podcasts, makers of the popular The Rest Is History series and its spin-offs about politics, football, entertainment and money.
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