GARY Lineker has deleted a tweet in which he made a "sexist" pun about England footballer Chloe Kelly's goal celebration during Sunday's Euro 2022 final.
Kelly removed her shirt after scoring the winning goal during extra time, taking England to a 2-1 lead over Germany.
In response to the move, which was widely celebrated on social media as "iconic", football pundit Lineker tweeted "Kelly is England's heroine, bra none."
Social media users were quick to hit back at the BBC's highest-paid presenter, branding the comment as "casual sexism" and "moronic", leading Lineker to delete the tweet.
Trying to cram as many supportive tweets in after your moronic ‘bra’ tweet Gary?
— David Roberts (@davidrobertsss) July 31, 2022
One person wrote: "Seriously Gary? An epic win, a game-changer for women's sport, a call to arms for young girls who have been told they can't. And you minimise this glory down to a joke about a woman's clothing/underwear. Casual sexism is rife here and the @Lionesses deserve better."
Another replied: "What a disappointing tweet. What these women have done today is epic and so important for young girls throughout the country. You've reduced it to sexism. Would you have talked about the men's underwear if they'd won tonight?"
What a disappointing tweet. What these women have done today is epic and so important for young girls throughout the country. You’ve reduced it to sexism. Would you have talked about the mens underwear if they’d won tonight?
— Linda (@Lindagoudie) July 31, 2022
A former England representative himself, the 61-year-old then declined to apologise in an exchange with a campaigner.
Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of the Nia charity campaigning against violence aimed at women, asked: "Please apologise for and condemn the sexist responses to your now deleted badly judged tweet."
However, Lineker replied: "It was just a play on words given the celebration. I do rubbish like that constantly on here, including on men’s football. I’ve deleted it as many people didn't see the game so missed the context."
The women's England football team, known as the Lionesses, lifted the Euro 2022 trophy in front of the record-breaking crowd at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening, defeating the German side 2-1 in extra time.
