Gary Lineker left staggered by SPOTY snub during rehearsal for event

BBC host Gary Lineker was left flabbergasted after learning that English golfer Matt Fitzpatrick had not been named among the nominees for this year’s Sports Personalty of the Year award. The prestigious event takes place in Salford on Wednesday night, and Lineker will host the event alongside Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Clare Balding.

This morning, however, Lineker took to social media to express his incredulity that Fitzpatrick had failed to make the six-contender shortlist. The 28-year-old won the US Open in June, and was widely expected to be among the nominees. Gymnast Jessica Gadirova, footballer Beth Mead, curling’s Eve Muirhead, cricketer Ben Stokes, snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan and athlete Jake Wightman are in contention.

Lineker tweeted: “Starting rehearsals for for @BBCSPOTY and saw the list doesn’t contain @MattFitz94”, along with a series of embarrassed face emojis. Lineker is known to be a big golf fan, and clearly feels strongly that Fitzpatrick deserved some acclaim for his achievements.

The Match of the Day host was far from the only person to feel it was the wrong decision. Golfer Ian Poulter drew on his own experiences of being snubbed for the award as he lashed out at the BBC.

He tweeted: “Sorry but complete disregard for @MattFitz94 makes this event a continued farce and joke. I experienced first hand how much of a joke this was ten years ago. Promised myself then I’d never waste time attending or watching again.”

According to The Telegraph, however, Fitzpatrick had already turned down the chance to attend SPOTY in protest against how golfers never seem to pick up the main award. Indeed, no golfer has won the award since Nick Faldo in 1989, with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke only managing runner’s up spot in recent years.

In 2021 tennis star Emma Raducanu claimed the award thanks to her sensational US Open triumph. England footballer Mead is the strong favourite this time around, however, thanks to the Lionesses’ triumph in the World Cup in the summer. 

Reflecting on that success at Wembley, Mead said: “It was a proud moment for me and a surreal moment – walking out of that tunnel and going to play in front of a home crowd.

“The day in general, the noise in general, the atmosphere was honestly something I’ll never feel or experience again.”