Gary Lineker, A Deleted Tweet, And A BBC Own Goal: What Business Owners Can Learn


Gary Lineker rarely needed a referee in his playing days. Over 600 professional matches, not a single booking. Impeccable timing, calm under pressure, always just inside the line.

Which makes his latest brush with the BBC all the more ironic.

After sharing a pro-Palestinian video on X (formerly Twitter) that included antisemitic imagery,

Gary Lineker deleted the post and apologised. But for the BBC, it was too little, too late. A mutual decision has been made: he’ll step down after this Sunday’s Match of the Day – a year earlier than planned.

If this were football, we’d call it a forced substitution with dignity intact.

But this wasn’t a one-off. It follows previous controversies, public outcry, internal reviews and policy rewrites. Lineker may not be a BBC employee, but he’s been one of its most high-profile assets. And when your asset goes rogue online – intentionally or not – the damage can be
difficult to contain.

So what can entrepreneurs and business owners learn from this?

Well, for starters: don’t assume common sense is a policy. Especially not in public. Especially not online. And especially not when your personal views are closely tied to your brand.

But that’s just the first half.

The real tactics – the red flags to watch for, the policies to put in place, and the crisis moves to avoid your own Match of the Day moment – are all in the subscriber-only version of this post.

Want to protect your reputation and stay off the PR naughty step?

👉 Get the full version, packed with practical insights by subscribing to the newsletter: Register your details here.

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