BBC presenter Gary Lineker has raised his head above the parapet this weekend, after he shared his candid thoughts about the current situation in Israel and Palestine. The former footballer didn’t hold back in his assessment.
Speaking with the US-based journalist Medhi Hasan, Lineker revealed that he is ‘frequently brought to tears’ by the images of emerging from the war zone, and described the last few months as ‘the worst thing’ he has ever seen.
Furthermore, the ex-England striker argued that there has been ‘heavy lobbying’ to silence people from voicing their support for Palestine, insisting that there is nothing anti-semetic about saying ‘Israel is in the wrong’.
His remarks have spread like wildfire across social media, and sure enough, GB News have lashed out at the 63-year-old. News anchor Mark Dolan branded Mr. Lineker as a ‘dangerous and duplicitous man’ during his Sunday night show.
Gary Lineker is no stranger to a backlash over his political views. He was briefly suspended from Match of the Day last year, after his criticism of the Tories and Suella Braverman caused outrage among right-wingers. He now insists he ‘will not be silenced’:
“It’s the worst thing I’ve seen in my lifetime. I’m not Muslim, or Jewish, so I see this purely from a neutral perspective. There are constant images of children being killed. The minute you raise objections, you get accused of supporting Hamas.”
“There’s a lot of heavy lobbying on people to be quiet. I understand why most people refrain. I can’t be silent about what’s happening. It’s so utterly awful. And it is not anti-semetic to say what Israel is doing is wrong.”
“Whatever the cause, however this started, the history of this part of the word goes way beyond October 7th. It’s dreadful what is happening, and I’ll admit, I cry on a regular basis when I see images [of this war] on social media” | Gary Lineker
