BBC forced to remove Wayne Rooney tweet after Gary Lineker tells them to 'delete this'

The BBC deleted a tweet about Wayne Rooney's sacking as Birmingham manager shortly after a request from Gary Lineker.

Birmingham announced they had parted company with the England and Manchester United legend on Tuesday morning, under three months after they had appointed him.

Rooney failed to win 13 of his 15 games in charge at St Andrew's, with the 3-0 defeat to Leeds on New Year's Day proving to be the final straw for the club's hierarchy.

In an official club statement, Birmingham said that 'results have not met the expectations that were made clear at the outset', and added that a management change 'is in the best interests' of the club.

Following the announcement, the BBC Sport X (Twitter) account posted a photo that depicted Rooney as a member of the Peaky Blinders - the popular BBC show set in Birmingham.

The post was captioned: "By order of the Peaky Blinders... Wayne Rooney has been sacked by Birmingham City."

By order of the Peaky Blinders, Wayne Rooney has been sacked by Birmingham city ❌️ pic.twitter.com/8t3PF6bxvB

— FUTURI$TIC $OUNDS🎵 (@futuresoundsss) January 2, 2024

The nature of the post confused some fans on social media - and Match of the Day host Lineker clearly wasn't impressed by it either.

In a blunt post in reply to the original, Lineker stated: "Delete this."

Shortly afterwards, the post was indeed removed from the BBC Sport page, with Lineker subsequently deleting his own post.

After news of his sacking, Rooney posted a statement on his own Instagram page, in which he thanked the ownership group for giving him the opportunity to manage the club.

He also stated his belief that he needed longer than 13 weeks 'to oversee the changes that were needed', before adding: "I have been involved in professional football, as either a player or manager, since I was 16.

"Now, I plan to take some time with my family as I prepare for the next opportunity in my journey as a manager."

Birmingham, meanwhile, are on the lookout for their third manager of the season after parting company with John Eustace in October.

Eustace, who is still under contract with the club, is among the candidates to take the vacant role, while former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper and Reims boss Will Still are also said to be in contention.