They were once rivals on the field, but in recent years they have clashed over their opinions.
But Graeme Souness and Gary Lineker were forced to put their differences aside while working together on ITV’s new celebrity game show The Box, three years after he called out the Match Of The Day presenter for refusing to apologize for tweets criticizing the government’s migrant law.
Lineker hit the headlines in March 2023 after he was suspended by the BBC for refusing to apologize over criticism of the government’s bill on illegal migrants. After days of dramatic fallout, with his colleagues Ian Wright and Alan Shearer showing support by boycotting the programme, Lineker was reinstated in his role.
But Souness claimed at the time that Lineker, Shearer and Wright should keep their views to themselves because freedom of speech ‘doesn’t apply’ to BBC employees.
‘It wasn’t the first time Gary Lineker had upset people, and I don’t think he should have said what he did because when you take the money from the BBC you have to be very careful about what you say politically. Freedom of expression is something that doesn’t apply when you work for the BBC, I think you have to be very careful,” Souness said on William Hill’s Up Front with Simon Jordan podcast.
And at The Box’s launch event in London ahead of the series debut on September 5, Souness couldn’t resist taking a playful jab at Lineker.
Graeme Souness (pictured) and Gary Lineker were forced to put their differences aside as they worked together on ITV’s new celebrity game show The Box
The ex-Liverpool midfielder admitted he wanted to crush Lineker a few times during filming.
Lineker watched the ten celebrity contestants compete in unpredictable physical, mental and logical challenges with little to no instruction.
“It was revenge for that tackle at Anfield in 1981,” Lineker responded to the dig, to which Souness responded: “Is it a bit too late to apologise?”
Elsewhere, several other contestants revealed what Lineker was really like as host of the new game show.
Love Island’s Shakira Khan revealed: ‘They had to keep Gary away from us because of his poker face.
‘He looked at the challenges earlier, when they were testing them, and he said, “Oh, so and so did this before, so you did better than them!” He was really encouraging.”
JLS star JB Gill added that Lineker was not allowed to socialize with them off camera due to his knowledge of the show.
Lineker hit the headlines in March 2023 after being suspended by the BBC for refusing to apologize for criticizing the government’s bill on illegal migrants
Ellie Taylor also said: “We saw him in challenges. He was great, he was sweet and supportive. He really enjoyed the process and invested in the show. And I think having that kind of energy at the top of the show kind of trickled down to the rest of us. He was great.’
Touted as a replacement for Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, each episode of The Box concludes with ‘The Duel’, an elimination match that pits two players against each other.
When asked if this was his first time hosting a major entertainment show, Lineker said: “It’s different, it’s something I’ve never done before and that appealed to me, in addition to the uniqueness of the concept.”
Lineker signed the major deal with ITV after leaving the BBC last year following a row over anti-Semitism.
The former Match of the Day host was fired after sharing a pro-Palestine video on Instagram with a rat emoji, with critics accusing him of promoting a well-known anti-Semitic slur.
He later “apologized unreservedly” for his actions, saying he was unaware of the symbol’s meaning and adding: “I would never knowingly repost anything anti-Semitic – it goes against everything I stand for.”
He said quitting his role at the BBC – where he was once the highest-paid star – was “the responsible thing to do”.
The Box starts Saturday September 5 on ITV1 and ITVX.
