Gary Lineker poked fun at the BBC as he returned to terrestrial football coverage for the first time since leaving the corporation.
In a move that shocked football fans when it was first mooted, Lineker made a guest appearance on ITV’s coverage of Germany versus Ivory Coast on Saturday night.
The 65-year-old former Match Of The Day host humorously introduced the show before ITV host Laura Woods interjected to remind Lineker of his role.
‘Thank you very much for joining us on ITV for this one – another day, another game, another channel,’ Lineker said as he opened the programme before jocularly apologising for slipping into ‘old habits’.
Lineker then mocked the BBC, confirming ITV’s breathtaking studio overlooking the Manhattan skyline was real, while his former employers remain at Salford’s MediaCity until the knockout stages.
‘I’ve been doing a show daily for Netflix, we’re at Times Square,’ Lineker later continued. ‘But I desperately wanted to come and see your set because I think it’s absolutely amazing and I can confirm that it is real.’
The panel quizzed Lineker on the tournament as a whole, Harry Kane equalling his England World Cup goalscoring record, the art of being a striker and Thomas Tuchel. After an 11-minute love-in, Lineker threw the broadcast to its first advert break.
Lineker humorously introduced the show, as he used to as a host on the BBC, before presenter Laura Woods interjected and told him it was her job
The 65-year-old joined Duncan Ferguson, Gary Neville and Ian Wright as a ‘special guest’ on ITV’s enlarged panel
Host Woods then gave him the chance to get political, asking him about FIFA’s ticket prices, which he criticised.
‘FIFA will argue that the stadiums are all full – and they are – and the stadiums are amazing,’ Lineker said.
‘But I think for fans having to take out a second mortgage or sell their cars to be able to watch a football match to fill the pockets of what is supposedly a not-for-profit organisation, I just don’t understand what FIFA are doing and why they are making it so difficult.
‘It’s incredible that so many fans have come here despite that. I just think, why? Why do they have to make it so expensive?’
Lineker remained on the coverage for 20 minutes and jokingly asked whether he had failed the audition before departing.
‘If you passed it, you would get my job, so you’ve failed,’ Woods quipped.
‘I’ve got no chance of that, Laura,’ Lineker replied. ‘May I say what a fabulous job you do – you are very good at this.’
Lineker joined Duncan Ferguson, Gary Neville and Ian Wright as a ‘special guest’ on ITV’s temporarily enlarged panel.
Lineker was supposed to front the BBC’s coverage at this summer’s World Cup in his final bow for the corporation after 26 years of service.
However, he was stood down last May following backlash over a string of political social media posts, which included what he said was the unwitting sharing of a post on Instagram which featured a depiction of a rat – an image associated with antisemitism.
The former Match Of The Day host, who was the BBC’s highest earner of all time, apologised ‘unreservedly’ following the furore over the rat post but would go on to leave the Beeb at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Lineker has been based in New York for the World Cup, hosting The Rest Is Football podcast produced by his firm Goalhanger. Episodes go out daily on Netflix, with the deal worth a reported £14million.
Lineker has recently joined the wider ITV family, fronting upcoming celebrity gameshow The Box in September.
