From presenting in pants to political controversy: Gary Lineker’s Match of the Day career
With the former striker’s exit from the presenter’s chair confirmed, we look back at his most notable moments
BBC confirms Lineker’s Match of the Day departure
No one gave Leicester City a hope of winning the 2015-16 Premier League: apparently not even Lineker, who began his playing career with the Foxes in 1978 and remains a loyal fan. In mid-December 2015, the BBC1 anchorman vowed to present an episode of Match of the Day wearing only his pants if Claudio Ranieri’s side ultimately managed to pull off one of the most surprising title wins in history. Five months after Lineker’s promise on Twitter (now X), Leicester’s glory arrived in May 2016. Lineker was as good as his word, beginning the next season’s opening highlights show in mid-August wearing a mercifully baggy white pair of Leicester City-branded boxer shorts as Alan Shearer and Ian Wright looked on from the pundits’ chairs. The former Tottenham and Barcelona forward remained in his pants for about 30 minutes of the broadcast, by which point no one could question his willingness to treat MotD viewers to a laugh at his own expense.
