Gary Lineker has vowed to say sorry to Frank Lampard after a gag about the Chelsea legend’s hair backfired.
The Match of Day host made the quip live on air following Germany’s Euro 2024 win over Hungary. Lineker couldn’t help himself as he joked about Lampard’s alleged thinning thatch while discussing the impressive Berlin scenery behind the BBC studio, which features the iconic Brandenburg Gate.
Lineker quipped to viewers that if they removed the massive screen that had just shown Germany’s victory to tens of thousands of fans, they’d “see all of the fans”. He then pointed out: “But if they took the screen down they wouldn’t be able to watch the game.”
READ MORE: ‘I went to a Danish bar ahead of Euros clash – all I found were filthy shots and Englishmen’
READ MORE: Gareth Southgate responds to his England critics with staunch defence of Phil Foden
Learn more
Lampard chimed in saying: “They’d see my head. They wouldn’t turn up for that!”. Lineker then cruelly barbed: “No you’re right, nobody wants to see the back of your head these days, that’s for sure.”
Lampard tried to take the remark on the chin with a grin, but soon his smile faded to something less amused. A clip of the cringe-worthy moment went viral on social media, racking up over 3million views.
Hit by the online backlash, Lineker made it clear he meant no offence and promised to make amends with the former England midfielder. Talking on his The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Micah Richards, he confessed: “I got myself in a bit of a pickle with Frank Lampard. It’s gone viral, I feel bad.”
What did you think of Lineker’s quip? Tell us in the comments section below
(Image: The Rest is Football/YouTube)
He insisted: “I didn’t mean it the way it came out, but it’s quite funny and Frank’s as good as gold, he doesn’t mind. Obviously Frank’s slightly thinning, I’m slightly thinning, and I actually meant it about everyone.
“But when it came out, it came out a bit wrong. And you know Frank does that thing where he smiles, and then he suddenly doesn’t smile?
“Frank’s great fun, he won’t mind. I must admit, when I got back to the hotel and saw it on social media, I went, ‘Oh you f****** idiot’. I felt really bad, I’ll have to apologise. It wasn’t deliberate but I get how funny it was. Those things happen on live TV.”