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Gary Lineker was supposed to interview Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in the days leading up to his final appearance as Match of the Day host, according to reports.

But the interview was pulled by his BBC bosses as they were reportedly worried that he would use the chat as an opportunity to talk about Gaza.

The interview never went ahead and wasn’t rescheduled, with Lineker departing the BBC following the conclusion of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.

Lineker took on the role of Match of the Day presenter in 1999 and became one of the most recognisable faces on British television as he hosted the corporation’s World Cup and FA Cup coverage, as well as their annual Sports Personality of the Year show.

However, he agreed to head through the exit early after apologising for sharing a social media post about Zionism that was deemed to be antisemitic.

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According to The Sun, Lineker’s interview with Egypt international Salah was axed without warning as there were fears the 64-year-old would say something controversial about Gaza.

The plug was pulled by the BBC’s director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, who joined the corporation last summer.

And an insider told the aforementioned publication: “The plan was for the interview to be shown across the BBC the weekend of Gary’s final Match Of The Day.

“That would include on Football Focus the day before as well as online and on social media.

They’d only just overcome one storm so to face another would have been a nightmare.”

The BBC denied the claims as they stated: “The interview was cancelled because it was planned to air after Gary’s last Match of the Day.

It would be wrong to suggest anything else.”

But a source revealed: “A cross-platform interview with the [Premier League] champions’ star player could have aired anytime.