Gary Lineker blocked from addressing Jewish writer’s memorial

Gary Lineker may have been finally forced out of the Beeb, but the ex-footballer is still managing to make headlines. Now it transpires that the son of the late award-winning football journalist Brian Glanville – who was made football correspondent for the Sunday Times in 1958 and covered every World Cup for the next 44 years – has forbidden Lineker from speaking at his Jewish father’s memorial ceremony after the pundit shared a controversial post about Zionism on social media. Mark Glanville hit out at the former Match of the Day presenter after his sister Jo suggested Lineker speak at their father’s service due to the journalistic duo’s close acquaintance – and blasted the ex-pundit’s post as ‘crossing a line’.

Despite his father’s friendship with Lineker, Glanville has insisted his late father – who died last month aged 93 – would not have wanted the ex-pundit to speak at the ceremony. As reported by the Mail on Sunday, the highly-acclaimed sports writer’s son noted:

I can’t have somebody coming to speak at my dad’s memorial service who, though not antisemitic, is someone who is giving ammunition to people who are antisemites. Once you share a picture of a rat which is associated with Nazis, you really are crossing a line.

It comes after Lineker shared a video titled ‘Zionism explained in less than two minutes’, with text written across it: ‘Why does this still have to be explained? Why?’ Next to the title sits a cartoon rat, which stayed on the screen throughout the film – in which lawyer Diana Buddu blasted Israel’s attacks on Gaza. While the ex-England captain has never shied away from criticising of Israel, his opponents were quick to hit out at this particular reel and lambasted the addition of the rat image – which is seen as being reminiscent of Nazi symbols used to depict Jewish people – for going too far. Soon after, Gary – the corporation’s highest-paid ‘star’ – quit.

Glanville added that his father had been deeply affected by the Holocaust and had received antisemitic bullying at school. For his part, Lineker has apologised for sharing the post, saying that he was not antisemitic and would ‘never, ever have shared’ the clip if he had realised its ‘awful connotations’. Too little, too late…