Gary Lineker’s outfit while presenting coverage of England’s opening Euros match may have breached BBC guidelines, it has been claimed.
The Match of the Day presenter, 63, appeared to wear a green T-shirt from his Next clothing range while commenting on Sunday’s England v Serbia game live on-air.
According to BBC rules, on-air talent should not wear clothes ‘which they have agreed, or been contracted, to promote or in which they have any financial interest.’
Under section 15 conflict of interest, the broadcaster’s guidelines state: ‘No on-air talent should promote products, goods, services or clothing they use on air.
‘On-air talent, in any genre, engaged by the BBC must not accept clothing or products free, or at considerably reduced cost, in exchange for wearing or using them on air.
‘Nor should they appear on air wearing clothes or using products, goods or services which they have agreed, or been contracted, to promote or in which they have any financial interest.’
Gary first collaborated with high street retailer Next on a menswear range last year. The collection features over 60 items including sunglasses, suit jackets and linen trousers.
The former England player’s alleged flouting of BBC guidelines comes after he was taken off air over an impartiality row last year.
The broadcaster temporarily suspended Gary from his Match of the Day duties after he compared the language used to launch a Government asylum seeker policy to 1930s Germany on social media.
Benching Gary sparked a backlash and resulted in a number of his fellow pundits, including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, boycotting the football highlights programme.
The former Leicester striker later returned to the show and faced no disciplinary action. However, new BBC social media rules have since banned flagship presenters from attacking political parties.
Speaking about the furor at the Hay Festival in Powys, Gary said: ‘I think it is a great shame, what happened, because it pretty much pitched me against the BBC. I love the BBC.’
Earlier this year, Gary said he received ‘threats’ after he retweeted and later deleted a post on social media that called for Israel to be banned from international sporting events, including football.
The post on X, formerly Twitter, by the Palestinian Campaign For The Academic And Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which he reportedly misread, appealed to the International Olympic Committee, Fifa and all regional and international sports governing bodies to take ‘an urgent stance.’
Speaking to The Guardian about the backlash since the tweet, he confirmed he had ‘received threats’ and said: ‘It’s not about me. I am not the victim here.’
Gary added: ‘If 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’t understand it.’