Match of the Day host Gary Lineker deletes retweet about Israel after 'misunderstanding'

Gary Lineker has deleted a retweet on social media calling for Israel to be banned from international football after receiving backlash.

Lineker reposted a statement on X from a pro-Palestinian campaign calling for Israel to be booted from all global tournaments and games 'until it ends its grave violations of international law'.

The statement read: "The Palestinian Football Association calls on @iocmedia, @FIFAcom and all regional and int'l sports bodies to take an urgent stance on Israel’s grave violations of human rights and subject it to legal accountability measures."

In another post, they wrote: "We support the PFA demand and call for pressure on sporting bodies to suspend Israel until it ends its grave violations of international law, particularly its apartheid rule and the crime of genocide it is perpetrating in Gaza."

However, the Match of the Day presenter has removed his retweet after angering politicians, including Tory MP Andrew Percy.

It's claimed that the Leicester City legend did not understand what he was sharing on his social media, according to sources via The Telegraph.

He believed he was sharing a news article about Israel being banned, rather than a demand for a ban across sporting competitions and deleted his retweet from his account when he realised his error.

Gary Lineker during the broadcast of a FA Cup tie on the BBC. Image: Getty

Percy said: "The BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement is a racist, anti-Semitic campaign and nobody who receives taxpayers’ money working in the BBC should be endorsing a campaign that is widely understood to promote Jew hate.

"There has to be a line where the BBC has to intervene and him endorsing a racist campaign, which is what the BDS group is widely understood to be, surely must be a new low if they’re going to allow him to get away with that."

It is understood that Lineker assured the BBC that he did not mean to support the Israel boycott.