Gary Lineker is accused of ‘casual racism’ after jokingly tweeting he ‘had a tenner on Black Lives Matter scoring first goal’ when the Premier League returned last night
- Lineker made the gag during Manchester City’s match against Arsenal last night
- The former England ace posted the message after players took the knee
- His joke badly backfired with social media users rounding on the BBC host
- Gesture from the stars came after George Floyd’s death in the US last month
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has been accused of ‘casual racism’ after fans cried foul on his Black Lives Matter football gag.
The BBC host, 59, tweeted the joke during the Manchester City v Arsenal match last night.
He made light of the players having the name of the anti-racism movement on the back of their shirts instead of their surnames.
The England legend told his 7.5million followers: ‘Had a tenner on Black Lives Matter to score the first goal.’
Lineker prompted a series of angry messages after this Tweet sent during the match on Wednesday night
Fans have called for Lineker to apologise after he made the joke during the Manchester City vs Arsenal match on Wednesday night. He is pictured here in his home in Barnes. Pierre-Emerick Aubamey and Kevin De Bruyne take the knee before kick-off
But fans were quick to blast the comment, laying into the former Leicester City ace.
Paul Paterson fumed: ‘Out of order Gary!
‘Is casual racism a thing with you now?’
Jon Webster said: ‘So the last two weekends it’s been a serious message, we’ve had TV shows cancelled but this joke is acceptable?
Twitter users rounded on the former England ace, questioning if the joke is acceptable and expecting others to call for him to be sacked
‘He is one of the permanently offended, and going by his standards, and him agreeing that shows like Come Fly with Me and Little Britain should be taken off air due to apparent racism.
‘This is making a mockery of the message so yeah I fully expect people to want him sacked.’
Some Twitter users backed Lineker and described those claiming racism to calm down
The gesture of taking the knee came after the death of George Floyd. Protests over his death in London on Saturday by campaigners continued to highlight the cause
Danny McMoomins reacted by saying: ‘Wow. Nothing to joke about, Gary. You’re cancelled.’
Chris Farrar added: ‘Grow up Gary.’
Mark Stanyard agreed and said: ‘Poor taste Gary.’
Another said: ‘Biggest own goal football has seen.’
Stu Anderson said: ‘Is this joke worthy?
‘I’m fine with it but some won’t be.’
City and Gunners players also took the knee before the match – which the home side won 3-0.
The gesture and the shirt names came after the death of George Floyd in the US last month.
But there was some support for Lineker as other fans called for people to calm down.
Owen Kendrick said: ‘All the people offended by this joke either don’t understand the reason behind it or are imo part of a problem we have in this day and age.
‘In no way shape or form is this racism.’
Jon Devo also urged sense, praising the host for his strong stance against racism over the years.
He said: ‘Anyone calling this tweet racist doesn’t fully understand what racism is.
‘And probably also believes ‘reverse racism’ is a thing too. It’s a dad joke, Gary makes them often.
‘He’s also consistently supported BLM and has continuously faced backlash from racists for doing so.’
The BBC declined to comment while Lineker’s agent has also been contacted over the row.