More like this
Gary Lineker quits Mail on Sunday over Triesman row
Former England man says paper has ‘undermined’ 2018 World Cup bid as fans groups urge Mail boycott
Gary Lineker has quit his column in the Mail on Sunday in protest over the paper's expose of Lord Triesman and the damage it has done to England's World Cup bid. The news comes as football supporters’ groups urge fans to boycott the paper and its sister publication the Daily Mail.
England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup was badly damaged when the paper published tapes of a private conversation between Lord Triesman, the bid chairman, and a former aide, Melissa Jacobs, in which he appeared to accuse Spain and Russia of bribing referees.
The Labour peer immediately stood down from the 2018 bid team and resigned as chairman of the Football Association. But Fifa has ordered an investigation into the allegations and the English bid appears to have been seriously compromised.
Triesman himself has accused the paper of entrapment while Match of the Day presenter Lineker, a former England player who is an ambassador for the 2018 bid, said: "The actions of the Mail on Sunday in publishing [the story] have undermined the bid to bring the World Cup to England in 2018."
He added: "I wholeheartedly support the bid, because I believe that hosting the tournament would be brilliant for the country, and I am an official ambassador for it. I have therefore taken the view that I cannot continue as a columnist for the Mail on Sunday."
Lineker's agent, Jon Holmes, was more forthright. He said: "The story showed crass judgment. It had dubious journalistic merit, was clearly obtained by entrapment, and was timed to do the maximum damage to the World Cup bid, which Gary and all football fans in this country passionately support."
The Mail on Sunday may lose more than just a columnist after England supporters were urged "to think long and hard" about buying the paper. "The Mail on Sunday has grievously endangered the bid with the worst sort of journalism. All involved at the Mail should hang their heads in shame," said Malcolm Clarke, the chairman of the Football Supporters Federation, in a joint statement with another group, Supporters Direct. ·
Comments are now closed on this article
Comments
Although in my opinion TMOS were silly to publish the story the twist could be that Melissa and dear old Max - who reportedly advised her what to do for maximum financial gain (note: does Max have any loyalties to the greater causes in life?) - were doing it on behalf of foriegn elements who are worried about the threat from the English bid and the loss of their profits. Now that would make a really good film plot