Gary Lineker has sparked anger after sharing a video on social media that brands Israel's attack on Gaza "textbook genocide".
The BBC Match of the Day presenter appeared to endorse the clip, which he shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, in which journalist and activist Owen Jones interviewed Israeli historian Raz Segal.
"Gaza is a 'textbook genocide'," said Jones in the post, shared by Lineker.
"This is according to Raz Segal - an Israeli associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University in the US.
"Listen carefully to what he says. It's based on facts, law and precedent - and it should terrify you."
In Segal's interview with Jones, he explained the United Nations' definition of genocide, and claimed Israel's actions in Gaza matched the criteria.
Worth 13 minutes of anyone’s time. https://t.co/noj9iecVWs
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 21, 2023
Sharing the video to his 8.9m followers, Lineker wrote: "Worth 13 minutes of anyone’s time."
Stephen Pollard, editor-at-large of the Jewish Chronicle, criticised Lineker, writing in an op-ed on Tuesday, accused Lineker of "spectacular ignorance" and "universe-bending arrogance".
"Lineker said not a word when 1,200 Jews were murdered by Hamas, when women were raped, babies burned and some 240 hostages taken," Mr Pollard claimed.
Lineker posted on X on November 3, when he appeared to back calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and disagreed with then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman's description of protests in the UK as "hate marches".
Marching and calling for a ceasefire and peace so that more innocent children don’t get killed is not really the definition of a hate march. https://t.co/qLyIqZKhwt
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 3, 2023
Former England striker Lineker caused controversy earlier this year after criticising the Government's Illegal Immigration Bill - by posting a tweet in which he likened the language used by the Government to promote its asylum plans to that used in 1930s Germany.
It sparked a high-profile impartiality row at the BBC, leading to Lineker's brief suspension and numerous colleagues threatening to boycott Match Of The Day in solidarity with the presenter.
The BBC subsequently updated its social media rules for presenters of its flagship shows.
The Standard has approached representatives for Mr Lineker for comment.
