• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Gary Lineker Says He Was Racially Abused Because Of His 'Darkish Skin'

Home> Football

Updated 08:28 22 Jun 2022 GMT+1Published 08:04 22 Jun 2022 GMT+1

Gary Lineker Says He Was Racially Abused Because Of His 'Darkish Skin'

The England legend revealed he was subject to bullying while a kid, and later in life by professional footballers.

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins

English footballing legend Gary Lineker has spoken out about racist abuse he suffered as a kid and during his footballing career because of his ‘darkish skin’. 

The outspoken pundit was a guest on the High Performance Podcast where he revealed he was subject to bullying while a kid, and later in life by professional footballers.

The former England international who said he was ‘As English as they come’, described the abuse he copped because of the colour of his skin. 

He told the podcast: “Without being good at sport, life would have been very different for me because I was, I think I would have been bullied at school, I was kind of marginally that way anyway because I was this tiny geeky kid, with darkish skin and I had pretty much racist abuse although I’m not, I’m as English as they come. 

“All the time, all the time.”

Advert

However, he hinted that some known figures in the English sport may have also been culprits in throwing the abuse his way.

He added: “Even in professional football I had that a couple of times, I wouldn’t ever name any names.

“So I got that kind of nonsense, which was a bit weird.

“Whether that was part of something that made me, I don’t know, but other people might not be able to handle that.”

Advert

The Leicester City legend also spoke of not reaching puberty until he was 17, making changing in the dressing room ‘embarrassing at times’. 

Lineker is a certified English legend, ranking fourth on the list of all-time international goalscorers for his country with 48 goals. 

He had a remarkable career playing for the likes of Leicester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Barcelona, however, has often ruffled a few feathers in his post-playing career.

Following his comments on the High Performance Podcast deputy leader of the Reclaim Party, Martin Daubney appeared on right-wing political broadcaster GB News to take aim at Lineker. 


Advert

He said: “Lineker is a man who is taking on every form of victimhood possible, even when it’s clearly ludicrous.”

He added: “Lineker is the ultimate hypocrite and I wish he just put one of his football socks in his gob.”

Lineker has consistently used his platform to speak out against social problems and has been a stark supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and players taking a knee before matches in the Premier League.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images / Alamy. Sportimage / Alamy.

Topics: Football, England, Gary Lineker

Jayden Collins
Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at SPORTbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

26 mins ago
10 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • 26 mins ago

    Evangelos Marinakis' immediate reaction to Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga emerges as Nottingham Forest consider legal action

    Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is unhappy with Tottenham's pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White.

    Football
  • 10 hours ago

    FIFA has banned five football kits for life that you'll never see again

    Club World Cup finalists Chelsea and PSG have been hit by FIFA’s ban on sleeve advertising rule

    Football
  • 13 hours ago

    Xabi Alonso has found the next Florian Wirtz for Real Madrid without spending anything

    The new Real Madrid boss may have uncovered a gem in the squad who could be the next Florian Wirtz.

    Football
  • 13 hours ago

    Chelsea set their asking price for Nicolas Jackson as shock club register interest and it looks like a typo

    Enzo Maresca has named his price to sell Nicolas Jackson this summer, amid links to a European giant.

    Football
  • KSI accuses Jake Paul of 'copying' his technique, says he has 'no idea what he's doing'