TV presenter Gary Lineker has stepped down from another role at the BBC following the news of his upcoming departure from Match of the Day, it has been announced.
It has now been confirmed by the corporation that Gary, 63, has stepped down as a presenter of Sports Personality Of The Year (SPOTY), as reported by PA. The BBC said that last year's awards ceremony - which he presented alongside Alex Scott, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding - was his last. He has been a presenter at the awards ceremony for over 20 years.
The news follows the announcement on Tuesday that Gary will stop presenting football highlights show Match Of The Day (MOTD) at the end of the current Premier League season. It was revealed that he will remain with the BBC though after both parties agreed to a contract extension through to the 2026 World Cup.
Gary will host BBC Sport's coverage of the FA Cup in the 2025-26 season and continue presenting the Match Of The Day: Top 10 podcast for BBC Sounds, which will also host The Rest Is Football podcast, produced by Gary's Goalhanger Podcasts, with one episode released on the platform each week.
A BBC SPOTY spokesperson told the PA news agency: "We can confirm Gary has decided to step down from the team presenting BBC Sports Personality Of The Year. After 23 years, last year's 70th anniversary was his final show."
The PA news agency understands the decision was not related to the contract discussions which will see Gary continue to present live football on the BBC until after the 2026 World Cup. It follows BBC News reports that the former Leicester City footballer was open to staying on at MOTD but was not offered a new deal.
Following the announcement of his new contract, Lineker said: “I’m delighted to continue my long association with BBC Sport and would like to thank all those who made this happen.”
Image:
Getty Images)Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: “Gary is a world-class presenter and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup. After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”
Match Of The Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman and Football Focus presenter Scott are two of the favourites tapped to replace Lineker on MOTD. A BBC statement on the future of the flagship football highlights programme said: “Future plans for Match of the Day will be announced in due course.”
Lineker, who regularly tops public lists of the BBC’s highest earners, was briefly suspended from hosting the programme in March last year after his tweet about the UK Government’s asylum policy sparked a row about BBC presenters expressing political views on social media. In response, Lineker’s colleagues, including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, refused to appear on the show in solidarity with Lineker and it was reduced to a 20-minute highlights package with no hosts, pundits or commentary. Lineker was reinstated just over one week later.
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