The good news just keeps coming for Gary Lineker. The Match of the Day host has won his appeal against HMRC over a £4.9 million tax bill. The taxman claimed Lineker was an employee of both the BBC and BT Sport – and that, as a result, he owed them money. But a judge ruled that Lineker was a freelancer and threw out HMRC’s case.
Lineker’s tribunal victory comes after he emerged victorious from his scrap with the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie over his tweets. The TV host was taken off the air after criticising the government’s asylum policy. But he returned to the show a week later after his fellow football presenters staged a boycott over Lineker’s treatment. Talking about the incident this week, Lineker said he ‘had a tear in my eye’ when he learned his fellow presenters Ian Wright and Alan Shearer had pulled out of the show.
Lineker is the BBC’s highest-paid star and earned about £1.35 million in 2020-21. His latest win is good news for his bank balance, given the possible repercussions if the decision had gone the other way. The crisps are on Gary tonight….
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