“And I love the BBC. For all its difficulties and problems, it’s an incredible institution. It’s something we should be massively proud of, and sometimes we rubbish it.”
The Beeb have since drawn up new social media guidelines for their freelance presenters, which Lineker has described as “all very sensible”. Flagship hosts are no longer allowed to criticise political parties while presenting, criticise the character of individual politicians in the UK or comment on political debate during an election period.
By extending his contract Lineker appears to be willing to comply with the new guidelines, while the BBC will also host Champions League highlights from next season. Lineker previously presented coverage of the European competition for BT Sport before it was rebranded to TNT Sports. It remains to be seen whether Lineker will present coverage of the expanded tournament.
