Gary Lineker proves he’s a man of his word by presenting in his pants
After promising to present Match of the Day in his underwear if Leicester City won the Premier League, Gary Lineker makes good on his word
No one could accuse Gary Lineker of not keeping his word. The former England striker kicked off the new series of Match of the Day wearing nothing but his pants after promising to do so back in December.
At the end of last year, Gary Tweeted that he would present the BBC1 football review show in his underwear if his football team, Leicester City, won the Premier League title last season. And, much to Gary’s surprise, that’s exactly what his beloved team went on to do.
YES! If Leicester win the @premierleague I'll do the first MOTD of next season in just my undies.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 14, 2015
Wearing nothing but a pair of white boxer shorts and holding a Leicester City badge, the 55-year-old managed to keep a straight face during his introductory piece to camera.
“It is a one-off and a sporting miracle that has landed me in my underwear,” explained Gary.
“When I tweeted that silly bet back in December, I categorically knew there was zero chance of Leicester winning the league. Zero chance. It happened but it was magical, it was great.”
He is a man of his word… #MOTD #garyspants https://t.co/vFw3kWFiWA
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 13, 2016
The sight of Gary in his pants was all too much for his colleagues, however. One-time England captain Alan Shearer and former Arsenal footballer Ian Wright could be seen giggling in the background.
Alan later posted a picture on his Instagram account with the caption “We’re not laughing at you, we’re laughing with you.”
Gary’s naked presenting didn’t last long, however. As the show moved onto the second match, he said: “Enough of this nonsense – I’m going to get dressed!”
While most people congratulated him for making good on his word, some fans took to Twitter to air their disappointment in his choice of underwear.
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Some, including BBC sport’s Dan Walker and TV critic Ian Hyland, accused him of chickening out and presenting in shorts instead.
4000 sit ups a day for 20 seconds or telly. Well played @GaryLineker. Were they pants or shorts though? #MOTD
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) August 13, 2016
Fair play to Gary Lineker.
But those are not pants. #MOTD— Ian Hyland (@HylandIan) August 13, 2016
The hashtag #garyspants began trending and Gary hit back, saying “Boxers are undies. That was embarrassing enough thanks”.
Had a few complaints saying I should've worn pants not boxers. My tweet said undies. Boxers are undies. That was embarrassing enough thanks.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 14, 2016
Match of the Day, BBC1.