Gary Lineker reveals which he could take back, Brexit or 'Hand of God'
Presented with changing two events in his life, Gary Lineker opted for reversing Brexit over the infamous “Hand of God” from Diego Maradona that knocked him ands England out of the 1986 World Cup.
The former striker was a guest on James O’Brien’s LBC radio show, with the host asking: “If I could give you a magic wand and you could reverse either the result of Brexit or the result of the 1986 Argentina game where Maradona cheated, which result would you most like to reverse?”
After what appeared to be genuine consideration, torn between his own personal legacy and that of the country, he eventually opted for the latter.
“I would like to take it back maybe three years and just eradicate everything, I just think we've turned into such a kind of hateful place, it's so sad to see, and for what? For what?”
The Match of the Day presenter did caveat the statement, however: “Obviously deep down inside of me I’m thinking, ‘World Cup, World Cup’. 1990 would probably have been better.”
Key to his consideration was the fact that beating Maradona’s Argentina would have only got him to the semi-final, whereas beating West Germany four years later would have meant England and Lineker making a World Cup final.
Lineker has consistently been a vocal critic of the decision to leave the European Union having initially said to “get on with it”.
He tweeted: "Can't find the bit in my tweet where I ask for another referendum. Leave won. Get over it."
Since then, however, he has admitted changing his mind and regularly voices his opinion. Despite being the BBC’s highest-paid on-air employee, with a salary of roughly £1.75 million annually, he is still free to voice his views.
Those that work for the BBC in politics or news sections aren’t, but because he works in sport and is a freelance contributor, he’s allowed to back a People’s Vote, even if it means he’ll still miss out on World Cup glory.
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