BBC hit back at Gary Lineker as World Cup coverage row heats up

BBC hit back at Gary Lineker as World Cup coverage row heats up The BBC have hit back at Gary Lineker after the former Tottenham and England forward taunted the corporation for mocking its decision to remain in the United Kingdom for the World Cup BBC's director of sport has appeared to have fired back at Gary Lineker by claiming their new "work-from-home" World Cup studio is not a "green box in Salford". Back in April, ex-BBC presenter Lineker taunted the corporation and mocked its decision not to build a base in the United States. The 65-year-old added that him leaving the company has allowed him to spend the World Cup in New York and said he doesn't regret missing out on anchoring their coverage of this summer's tournament. Then in mid-May, BBC presenter Gabby Logan mounted a staunch defence of the BBC's decision to remain in the UK until the last week of the five-and-a-half-week tournament. She cited the "very expensive cost" of moving the studio to the US for the start of the World Cup and claimed it won't "harm our coverage to not be there". Now on Tuesday, six weeks after Lineker's comments and two days before the start of the tournament, BBC's director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski threw open the doors of their nerve centre for this year's World Cup. A green-screen background was nowhere to be seen, as the BBC instead invested in a state-of-the-art studio, with a giant panoramic screen centrepiece. That is set to create an illusion with the studio overlooking whichever of the 16 World Cup host cities a game is being broadcast from, such as Mexico City and New York. They have even installed fans near the screen to blow air and imitate a gentle breeze. This will be alongside augmented reality features in a 360-degree part-real, part-virtual set-up where BBC presenters, including Logan and Mark Chapman, and pundit will be based until the final week of the World Cup this summer. Lineker had been expected to host the BBC's coverage for the tournament until his departure was confirmed in 2025 after sharing a social media post featuring a rat emoji, an animal that has been used in anti-Semitic propaganda. The ex-Tottenham and England forward went on to sign a £14million deal with Netflix to present his The Rest is Football podcast from a studio in New York, which is set to begin this week. On April 30, Lineker boasted about travelling to the US for the World Cup and "overlooking Times Square", while his former employers remain "in Salford in a green box". But Kay-Jelski said on Tuesday: "It's not a green box in Salford. It's a beautiful state-of-the-art studio. No one's seen it until now. It's completely fine to assume that what was there before was what it was going to be. And I'm really proud of this." "The actual end product people are getting at home, I don't really think it's that different," Kay-Jelski added. "If these people were sitting somewhere else, would your viewing be massively changed? "If I was standing here saying, 'Everything is going to be done from a studio in Dallas', you would rightly be saying to me, 'How can you justify that spend?'" The first game of the World Cup is set to take place on Thursday, as host nation Mexico face South Korea, with BBC's opening match expected to be Canada's Group B opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us - and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL. Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.