Gary Lineker slams BBC show's joke about football fans being racist

Gary Lineker was not impressed with the joke. (PA)
Gary Lineker was not impressed with the joke. (PA)

Gary Lineker has hit out after a joke about football fans being racist was shared on the Twitter account of BBC show Have I Got News For You.

The issue of racism in football has been in the headlines after players Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were trolled when they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final.

According to reports, the Have I Got News For You Twitter account posted following the controversy: “Amid calls to ban racist football fans from grounds indefinitely, clubs argue they’d struggle to survive with attendances of 12.”

Match Of The Day host Lineker has taken issue with the comment, which has since been removed.

“Joke or not, this is wide of the goal,” tweeted the former footballer. “The vast majority of football fans deplore the racism of the tiny, very tiny, minority.”

Many others posted their agreement.

“Gary’s right,” said one person on Twitter.

“Anyone who goes to football matches, these days, will tell you it’s incredibly rare to hear racist abuse.

"Any racism is completely unacceptable, but let’s not allow the racists to think they represent the majority of football fans, because they absolutely don’t.”

“This is true and just because there's a loud minority they don't speak for the majority,” said another.

Have I Got News For You captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. (Ray Burmiston)
'Have I Got News For You' captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. (Ray Burmiston)

Panel show Have I Got News For You airs on the BBC but is made by Hat Trick productions, which also runs the programme’s Twitter account.

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