Is Gary Lineker right to quit the BBC? Who should replace him? Vote now

will reportedly leave the over the anti-Semitism row that erupted featuring a rat emoji. Plans have been ditched for the long-serving Match of the Day presenter to host the corporation's coverage of the 2026 World Cup.

Lineker shared a pro-Palestine video that featured a rat emoji. Rats were used by Nazi Germany to portray Jewish people. The 64-year-old has since issued an apology and conceded that he was unaware of the offensive connotations. Lineker will now step down from the BBC after accepting that his role is now untenable.

The former England captain had been due to leave Match of the Day at the end of the season, but would continue fronting the BBC's coverage of next year's World Cup. Those plans will now be ditched.

Lineker previously courted controversy in March 2023 when he compared the then-Conservative government's immigration policy to Nazi Germany. He was stood down from that weekend's Match of the Day but returned when guests such as Ian Wright and Alan Shearer staged a boycott.

An outspoken critic of Israel, Lineker has divided opinion over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel's attacks on the strip. In an interview with the BBC last month, he said about the conflict: "I'm sorry. It's more important than the BBC. What's going on there is the mass murder of thousands of children [and] is probably something that we should have a little opinion on."

Many have accused Lineker of breaching the BBC's impartiality rules, which were last year changed to cover hosts of its "flagship programmes". You can now have your say on Lineker's departure in the poll below.