A well-known sports presenter has not spoken to Gary Lineker for years after being replaced by him at the BBC. Steve Rider is approaching retirement after 45 years on national television, having most recently hosted coverage of the British Touring Car Championship on ITV4. He has previously covered the Olympic Games, the Rugby World Cup, Formula One and the Champions League.
Rider started out at ITV but switched to the Beeb for around two decades before returning in 2005. He served as the BBC’s golf presenter during the 1990s, covering several major tournaments such as the Ryder Cup and the Masters. Upon his return to ITV, Rider was unimpressed with the BBC’s decision to select Lineker as their new face of golf.
He kept it quiet until 2015, when Lineker infamously described the R&A as ‘pompous’ and accused them of feeling like ‘superior beings’. It prompted a stinging response from Rider, who made it clear that he thought Lineker was the ‘wrong man’ for the job.
Rider told the Golf Paper: “I hold Gary Lineker in the highest regard as a football presenter, but his reflections on his experiences as a golf presenter need a huge reality check.
“For four years, the R&A and most other observers knew that Gary was the wrong man in the wrong job. Hazel Irvine has just delivered once again at the Open presentation skills of the highest quality. Not many people can do that and Gary certainly came up short.
“Roger Mosey, the head of sport, knew Gary was a golf fanatic and was further encouraged by Gary apparently volunteering for the Masters vacancy within a few minutes of my exit from Television Centre.
“But if Mosey thought long and hard before offering Gary the golf job, it’s even more baffling. Match of the Day is scripted and rehearsed. Golf presentation, especially at Augusta, is seat of the pants, unpredictable and demanding.”
Rider has not spoken to Lineker since then, according to The Telegraph, with the 75-year-old also taking a dim view of his tendency to ‘blunder’ into politics rather than sticking to his brief as a sports presenter.
Lineker recently left the BBC after more than two decades on their books, presenting his final Match of the Day episode last month.
He was already due to step down from the flagship show but was initially expected to remain with the BBC to host live coverage of the FA Cup and next year’s World Cup.
However, the 64-year-old left the broadcaster entirely after his departure was accelerated by controversy. On Instagram, he shared a pro-Palestine video which criticised Zionism and featured an image of a rat.
The post was later deleted and Lineker issued an apology, insisting he was unaware of how rats had been used throughout history to represent Jews in anti-semitic propaganda. The saga ultimately led to his exit from the BBC a year ahead of schedule.