Gary Lineker pulls out of Match of the Day hosting duties tonight… as the long-time host jokes that he has been ‘silenced’ and explains why he will miss the show in social media post
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Gary Lineker has announced he will miss Saturday’s Match of the Day due to illness.
The esteemed England legend, who usually hosts the football highlights show each week, will be absent on Saturday evening.
Lineker shared the news this afternoon on X, formerly Twitter, saying: ‘Good news for some: I’ve been silenced… with a rotten cold that seems to last forever.
“I hate that I’m missing hosting @BBCMOTD but I’ll be watching.” he added in his post.
Fans were quick to send their well wishes to the former striker, who hopes to feel better before the show next week.
Former England legend Gary Lineker will miss Saturday’s Match of the Day due to illness
Newcastle fans joked that they didn’t want Alan Shearer to catch a cold
Mark Chapman will host the BBC football show in place of Gary Lineker
Lineker has become a much-loved member of the Match of the Day team
Ian Wright has announced he will be stepping back from BBC’s Match of the Day next year
Lineker has been the face of Match of the Day for almost 25 years, regularly accompanied by football icons such as Alan Shearer, Ian Wright and Micah Richards.
After becoming a beloved pundit, the star last went off air during his row with the BBC over his views on the government’s migration policy.
The former striker is one of the highest paid presenters, earning around £1.3million a year.
Having hosted football’s highlights for almost 25 years, the flagship program will look very different without him, even in his absence.
In December, Match of the Day and BBC Sport signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League.
Questions about Lineker’s future on the show have lingered for some time, although the English legend reiterated his love for the show and said it was ‘too early’ to think about anything other than the flagship programme.
Fellow pundit Ian Wright confirmed last year that he would be stepping down from Match of the Day at the end of the season, saying it was ‘time to do a few other things with my Saturdays’.
Match of the Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman will take over from Lineker in his absence on Saturday night’s show, which airs on BBC One from 10.30pm.