Gary Lineker, who left the BBC in May 2025 after a row over an Instagram post about Zionism, will take his Goalhanger podcast The Rest Is Football to Netflix for a daily show at the 2026 World Cup, marking his first major television move since departing the corporation.
Lineker stepped down after 26 years as host of Match of the Day in May 2025, immediately following his final programme. He had shared an Instagram video titled "Zionism in less than 2 min" containing an emoji of a rat, a term widely recognised as antisemitic after being used by the Nazi regime in Germany during World War II. He later deleted the post and apologised: "On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references. I very much regret these references. I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. It goes against everything I believe in."
He had already been set to end his Match of the Day stint at the end of the 2025-26 season, but scrapped plans to continue working with the BBC for the FA Cup final and the World Cup that summer in light of the row. Lineker was the BBC's highest-paid presenter, having headed the show since 1999, and had fronted the broadcaster's coverage of other major sporting events, including the 2012 London Olympics.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August 2026, Lineker argued the BBC had "moved the goalposts" over its impartiality rules. He said there was "never a question" of impartiality rules for those who worked outside of news and current affairs until around 2019. "Then I think it was around 2019, something like that, the BBC moved the goalposts, and they said, 'From now on, it applies to everyone.' I remember speaking to the director-general and saying, 'I'm not going to change. I'm still going to speak up if I want.'"
He had previously been suspended by the broadcaster in 2023 over a social media post criticising the UK government's asylum policy, and was reinstated a few days later after fellow presenters and pundits walked out in solidarity.
Of life after the BBC, Lineker told the Press Association: "I've got a bit more time, I'm not treading on quite so many eggshells these days, I'm allowed an opinion on things. But no, I had a wonderful period at the Beeb, and I've covered so many major tournaments."
The Netflix deal sees Lineker joined by former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer for a daily TV show covering the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. While ITV is basing its team in New York throughout the tournament, the BBC plans to keep most of its presenters and pundits in the UK until the final week — a decision Lineker said surprised him.