https://arab.news/b9j57
- Broadcaster appeared to call for Israel鈥檚 banning from international sport in now-deleted retweet
- 鈥楬ow could it be controversial to want peace? I just don鈥檛 understand it,鈥� former England striker says
LONDON: English sports broadcaster Gary Lineker has revealed he received threats after appearing to calling for Israel鈥檚 banning from international sporting events, The Guardian reported.
In a retweet, the 63-year-old former international footballer posted the message by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which he subsequently deleted.
But a source told The Guardian that the former England star had misinterpreted the post as saying that the ban had already been carried out.
Lineker said he had received threats as a result of his retweet but added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about me. I am not the victim here.鈥�
Early last year, the broadcaster and longtime 鈥淢atch of the Day鈥� host was suspended by the BBC after comparing former home secretary Suella Braverman鈥檚 comments on immigration to rhetoric from Nazi Germany.
Lineker said that social media, including X, is hosting content relating to the Israel-Hamas war that is 鈥渟o toxic.鈥�
He added: 鈥淓verybody I talk to, every single person I know, is going: What? What is happening?鈥� But the minute you open your mouth 鈥� well, not my mouth, but the minute I tweet a little bit 鈥� it鈥檚 so toxic.
鈥淚f you lean to one side or the other, the levels of attack are extraordinary. How could it be controversial to want peace? I just don鈥檛 understand it.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to be Islamophobic to condemn Hamas, or antisemitic to condemn Israel. But at the moment it鈥檚 just awful. Awful.鈥�
Lineker has come under fire over his stance on the war, with the broadcaster saying that children鈥檚 casualty figures in Gaza make him 鈥渇eel sick.鈥�
He added: 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 see it as a Jewish thing. I see it as the Israeli government. Obviously, they鈥檙e responding to Oct. 7, but crikey, one atrocity does not deserve 80 atrocities. Or more.鈥�
The TV host said he had cut down his time on social media as a result of the 鈥渢oxicity.鈥�
Lineker added: 鈥淏efore, if I was killing time 鈥� I鈥檇 just be trawling through social media, getting irritated and depressed by world news.鈥�