Alex Scott has said she feared for her safety after online trolls threatened to throw acid in her face.
The BBC presenter, 40, is among those being tipped to replace Gary Lineker as the host of Match of the Day. A former Arsenal and England footballer with 140 national caps, Scott is also the current host of the BBC’s Football Focus.
Speaking to The Times, she said there are “negatives to fame.”
“I’ve had plenty of racism, abuse and even death threats,” she said. “When I was reported incorrectly to be replacing national treasure Sue Barker as the host of A Question of Sport, people were saying, ‘She’s only on TV because she’s black, female and younger. She’s just ticking boxes.’
“I was scared to go out of the house because these trolls were saying they were going to throw acid in my face, but luckily there are other people who keep me smiling. They’ll come up to me in my local shop and say, ‘Keep going,’ and that’s what I do.”
The BBC announced last week that Lineker will leave his role as host of Match of the Day, which he has held since 1999, at the end of the current football season.
The BBC has said future plans for the show will be “announced in due course” with Scott, Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan among those being tipped as candidates to replace Lineker.
Last night’s edition of the programme began with pundit Alan Shearer directly addressing the camera and saying: “All good things must come to an end.”
Lineker then appeared to joke about his departure, with a reference to the end of Lee Carsley’s interim charge of the England team during the international break.
“Yes Alan – Lee Carsley’s England reign is over. It’s back to business in the Premier League,” Lineker said, as he resumed presenting duties.
And just as Lineker introduced the opening highlights package of the evening, the 63-year-old muttered under his breath: “Al ain’t getting the job, is he?”
Shearer and fellow pundit Ashley Williams laughed at Lineker’s joke, and the show continued as usual from there.
Despite his exit from Match of the Day, Lineker will remain with the BBC after both parties agreed to a contract extension through to the 2026 World Cup.
Lineker will host BBC Sport’s coverage of the FA Cup in the 2025-26 campaign and continue presenting the Match Of The Day: Top 10 podcast for BBC Sounds, which will also host The Rest Is Football podcast, produced by Lineker’s Goalhanger Podcasts, with one episode released on the platform each week.
