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.