Gary Lineker is set to appear as a pundit for ITV for the World Cup over the weekend, in a major blow to the BBC, who he left last year
Gary Lineker is set to make a surprise appearance on ITV’s World Cup coverage(Image: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Gary Lineker is expected to feature as a pundit for ITV during the World Cup this weekend. The ex-Match of the Day host is currently in New York, where he is recording daily episodes of the Rest is Football for Netflix.
Nevertheless, The Independent has reported that he will now join ITV as a pundit for Saturday evening’s Group E fixture between Germany and Ivory Coast. This development sees him working for the BBC’s direct competitors, just over a year since parting ways with his previous employer, reports the Mirror.
Following his departure from Match of the Day, the initial arrangement was for him to stay with the BBC for their World Cup broadcasts. However, the decision to sever all connections with the broadcaster was confirmed in May of last year.
This comes after the BBC faced criticism for their World Cup studio, which is located in Salford, England, instead of in America where the tournament is being held. ITV, by contrast, are transmitting from a rooftop studio featuring the striking New York skyline as a backdrop.
In April, Lineker appeared to take a swipe at the BBC regarding the studio arrangement. “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,” he said.
That drew a reply from the BBC’s director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski. “It’s not a green box in Salford. It’s a beautiful state-of-the-art studio. No one’s seen it until now. It’s completely fine to assume that what was there before was what it was going to be. And I’m really proud of this.”
Kay-Jelski went on to say: “The actual end product people are getting at home, I don’t really think it’s that different,” adding, “If these people were sitting somewhere else, would your viewing be massively changed?”.
He continued: “If I was standing here saying, ‘Everything is going to be done from a studio in Dallas’, you would rightly be saying to me, ‘How can you justify that spend?’”.
Earlier in the week, Lineker commended ITV for resisting the use of contentious three-minute hydration breaks during matches to insert commercial breaks, unlike certain other broadcasters. Speaking on The Rest is Football, he remarked: “I want to give, actually, ITV a pat on the back here, because I think they could have taken that option, I don’t know, but they’re not,” before adding, “So, you know, well done for not doing that, ITV, because I’m sure it would be tempting. Is it the corporate world that we’re living in, in football now, the Americanisation of our sport, possibly?”.