Gary Lineker has Mo Salah interview cancelled by BBC as major fears raised by bosses

was supposed to interview star in the days leading up to his final appearance as host. But the interview was pulled by his BBC bosses as they were reportedly worried that he would use the chat as an opportunity to talk about Gaza. The interview never went ahead and wasn't rescheduled, with Lineker departing the BBC following the conclusion of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.

Lineker took on the role of Match of the Day presenter in 1999 and became one of the most recognisable faces on British television as he hosted the corporation's World Cup and FA Cup coverage, as well as their annual Sports Personality of the Year show. on screen and was temporarily suspended in March 2023 after comments he made about the government. He was due to step down as Match of the Day host but remain with the corporation for one more year. However, he agreed to head through the exit early after that was deemed to be antisemitic.

According to , Lineker's interview with Egypt international Salah was axed without warning as there were fears the 64-year-old would say something controversial about Gaza.

The plug was pulled by the BBC's director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, who joined the corporation last summer.

And an insider told the aforementioned publication: "The plan was for the interview to be shown across the BBC the weekend of Gary's final Match Of The Day.

"That would include on Football Focus the day before as well as online and on social media. Out of nowhere, it got cancelled. Some people think they didn't want Gary and Mo to talk about Gaza.

"Salah has spoken out in his support for Palestinians living in Gaza and Gary has made his feelings clear too. It felt like it may have come up naturally in conversation.

"It seems they axed it rather than risk possible editorial issues. They'd only just overcome one storm so to face another would have been a nightmare."

The denied the claims as they stated: "The interview was cancelled because it was planned to air after Gary's last Match of the Day. It would be wrong to suggest anything else."

But a source revealed: "A cross-platform interview with the [Premier League] champions' star player could have aired anytime. Salah wanted to speak to Gary so to axe it entirely seems short-sighted."

Salah enjoyed a scintillating campaign with Liverpool as he bagged 34 goals and 23 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions. His 47 Premier League goal contributions helped the Reds win the title by 10 points.