Netflix criticised over £14m deal with Gary Lineker who quit BBC after Zionism rat post

“It is hard to understand how spreading anti-Jewish hate and misinformation does not exclude someone from reaping eye-watering financial rewards.

“Giving him such a large global platform tacitly supports his positions.

“Unfortunately we live in a society where antisemitism, alongside excluding Israeli and Jewish audiences, is no barrier to irresponsible companies such as Netflix.”

Lineker was accused of antisemitism in May when he shared the social media post about Zionism featuring an image of a rat.

He strenuously denied the allegation, insisting he had been ignorant of the symbol, but he subsequently stepped down from his £1.35-million-a-year role presenting Premier League highlights show Match of the Day.

Goalhanger Podcasts Ltd which, also produces The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics, made a £3.1 million profit in 2024, according recently published accounts.

The Netflix shows will be filmed in a studio in New York and will feature a range of guests alongside regulars Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

It is expected that the month-long tournament will provide a significant opportunity for streaming platforms thanks to its global appeal.

In the UK alone 19.4 million viewers tuned into England's loss to France in the 2022 competition.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It appears that Netflix has conveniently forgotten the circumstances under which Gary Lineker left the BBC some months ago.

“Instead of keeping clear of him, they are rewarding his inflammatory posts on social media – which British Jews have not forgotten – with an eye-watering package with yet another global platform.

“This sends absolutely the wrong message."

Lineker, 65, quit the BBC after a video entitled “Zionism explained in less than 2 mins” originally posted by an activist group called Palestine Lobby was reposted onto his Instagram story.

The video featured an emoji of a rat, a symbol notoriously used by the Nazis to symbolise Jews.

He denied that he noticed the rat image, and he said he was unaware of the historical connotations of the rat, especially its use by the Nazis to demonise Jews during the Holocaust.

As the furore grew he issued an apology, saying: "On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learnt contained offensive references, I very much regret these references.”

He insisted he would “never knowingly share anything antisemitic” and said he had deleted the Instagram post “as soon as I became aware of the issue. It was an error on my part for which I apologise unreservedly.”

It is among a number of controversies involving the star including in March 2023 when he was temporarily taken off air by the BBC after a post on his X account compared the UK’s government’s asylum policy to rhetoric used in 1930s Germany.

In February this year he was among a number of famous names to sign a letter criticising the BBC for dropping the controversial documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, even after it was revealed that one of the teens prominently featured, Abdullah Al-Yazouri, was the son of a minister in the Hamas government.

Netflix and Lineker's representatives were approached for comment

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