Former Match of the Day presenter looks set to appear on ITV’s World Cup coverage following his exit from the BBC

Gary Lineker is reportedly set to appear as a pundit for ITV for the World Cup over the weekend. The former Match of the Day presenter is in New York, where he is presenting daily the Rest is Football episodes for Netflix.

However, The Independent reports that he will now appear on ITV as a pundit for Saturday night’s Group E clash between Germany and Ivory Coast. The move sees him turn out for the direct rivals of the BBC, just over a year after leaving his former employers.

The original plan following his exit as Match of the Day presenter was for him to remain with the BBC for their coverage of the World Cup. But, the decision to cut ties with the broadcaster completely was announced in May last year.

The move comes after BBC were criticised for their studio for the World Cup, which is based in Salford, England, rather than out in America where the tournament is taking place. ITV, meanwhile are broadcasting from a rooftop studio with the impressive New York skyline in the background.

Back in April, Lineker appeared to aim a taunt at the BBC over the studio. “I was originally going to do it for the BBC, this summer, but that didn’t transpire and I would have been in Salford in a green box and now I’m going to be in New York City overlooking Times Square with lots of great guests,” he said.

That prompted a response from BBC’s director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski. “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?'”

Earlier this week, Lineker moved to praise ITV for not using the controversial three-minute hydration breaks in each half of games to cut to advert breaks, like some broadcasters are doing. “I want to give, actually, ITV a pat on the back here, because I think they could have taken that option, I don’t know, but they’re not,” he said on The Rest is Football.

“So, you know, well done for not doing that, ITV, because I’m sure it would be tempting. Is it the corporate world that we’re living in, in football now, the Americanisation of our sport, possibly?”

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