Gary Lineker has responded to the abuse he received on Twitter over a comment he made about England’s Lionesses.
The BBC pundit took to social media to congratulate the women on their historic win.
However, as is with social media sometimes, the context surrounding his tweet was sadly lost on some fans.
As a result, he received some backlash for his remark.
What did Gary Lineker say on Twitter?
“Football is a simple game. 22 women chase a ball for 90 minutes and, at the end, England actually win. Congratulations @lionesses. Fabulous,” tweeted Gary on Sunday.
Sadly, soon after, Gary was criticised by some for the supposedly backhanded compliment.
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“What kind of backhanded congrat is this. Never heard it be called simple on MoTD. But 22 women playing a simple@game@of course they’d win. Simples.
“Side eye for real,” said one confused follower.
https://twitter.com/GaryLineker/status/1554024033838108673?s=20&t=uhKDVSKLnwoLSAS1ZFCCSw
“It went to extra time and they weren’t simple they were fanbloodytastic role models for football,” tweeted a second.
While a third said: “Could you have done a more patronising tweet? They have done something you never could.”
Gary Lineker clears up Euros 2022 backlash
However, it turns out many of Gary’s followers didn’t twig that he was paraphrasing his own famous quote.
One follower tried to clear up the confusion and explained Gary was actually complimenting the women, saying: “It’s a reference to an old joke about the men’s game – ‘Football is a simple game. 22 blokes run around after a ball for 90 minutes and then the Germans win on penalties.'”
In response to the controversy surrounding the tweet, Gary took to Twitter again on Monday (August 1).
He shared a picture of his original quote and tweeted: “The post-Italia ‘90 quote for Context. You’re welcome.”
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Meanwhile, Gary also received backlash for a pun he made about the women’s victory.
Referencing one of the players ripping off their shirt, he wrote: “The @Lionesses have only gone and done it, and Kelly is England’s heroine, bra none.”
He later wrote: “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.”
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