Gary Lineker, the former Match of the Day presenter, recently found himself at odds with far-right activist Tommy Robinson. The conflict arose when Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared a video clip of Lineker on holiday in Mexico. In this video, Lineker was seen walking on a street abroad with a young girl.
Robinson posted the video on social media platform X and captioned it provocatively: "What are you up to here @GaryLineker?" A passer-by in the clip echoed this question before wishing Lineker an enjoyable holiday.
Lineker, 65 years old at the time of this incident, promptly clarified that he was accompanying his daughter-in-law to a pharmacy for purchasing medicine for his son Harry. He accused Robinson of inciting hatred through his post. In response to Robinson's insinuations about the video clip, he wrote: "If you must know, I was going to a chemist with my daughter-in-law to get some medicine for her unwell husband…my son. Hatred is a dreadful weakness."
Further reactions
Lineker later retweeted another post suggesting that by encouraging his followers to spread potentially libellous claims about him (Linekar), Robinson had essentially thrown them under the bus. His son George also chimed in by calling out Robinson as an 'idiot'. Harry had married Bella earlier that year in June during an opulent ceremony held in Ibiza.
This incident wasn't Gary Linekar's first encounter with Yaxley-Lennon and his supporters. In one interview he admitted being physically accosted twice - once when he got elbowed by an elderly woman who was attending one of Robinson’s rallies and another time while grocery shopping where he was accused of hating Britain.
"It’s the same lot every time. It’s the same people," Lineker explained, referring to his detractors. Lineker had visited Pachuca, a central city in Mexico earlier that month for a ceremony where he was inducted into the International Football Hall of Fame. He shared on Instagram that this was his first visit to the Central American country since it hosted the 1986 World Cup.
