Gary Lineker has sparked fresh controversy after he “liked” a tweet defending an MP who had the Labour whip suspended in an antisemitism row.
Kate Osamor prompted outrage when she used a message on the eve of the day marking the murder of six million Jews during the Second World War to say Gaza should be remembered as a genocide.
The Edmonton MP has since apologised but has been suspended from the parliamentary party while an investigation takes place.
Lineker “liked” a post on social media platform X from a journalist at left-wing outlet Novara Media which branded Ms Osamor’s suspension as “insane”.
But the Match of the Day presenter, who is the BBC’s highest-paid star, has come under fire from Conservative MPs.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson said: “I genuinely fear for Mr Lineker’s mental health as in my opinion his recent social media contributions are a cry for help.
“The sooner the men in white coats come for him the better. That should save the TV licence payer a few bob.”
Fellow Red Wall MP Brendan Clarke-Smith added: “I remember the days when Grandstand was a BBC sports programme, not a description of their employees on social media.”
A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said the football pundit’s “latest intervention demonstrates his utter disregard for both the Jewish community and also the BBC and its rules”.
They added: “He thinks that he is immune from any professional or social consequences for his actions, and time and again the BBC has proved him right.
“Now he backs criticism of Labour’s robust reaction to an antisemitic comment by one of its MP. Will the BBC once again do nothing?”
The new row is the latest controversy about the former England footballer’s social media posts.
Lineker was briefly suspended by the BBC last year for taking to X to criticise the Government’s illegal immigration crackdown and compared language it used to that of 1930s Germany.
In a message shared online last Friday, Ms Osamor appeared to suggest the conflict in Gaza was a genocide.
The former shadow development secretary later tweeted: “Holocaust Memorial Day is a day to remember the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust and the genocides that have occurred since.
“I apologise for any offence caused by my reference to the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza as part of that period of remembrance.”
It is understood the BBC is not commenting on individual tweets. Lineker was contacted for comment.
