Gary Lineker apologises for sharing post about Zionism featuring picture of rat

BBC host says he would never knowingly share anything antisemitic' and deleted post on learning it was offensive

Gary Lineker has issued an unreserved apology for amplifying online material with antisemitic connotations, after reposting a video that criticised Zionism and included an illustration of a rat.

The outgoing Match of the Day presenter said he would never knowingly share anything antisemitic", adding he had deleted the Instagram post as soon as I became aware of the issue". The image of the rat was historically an antisemitic insult and used in Nazi Germany to characterise Jews.