On this day in 2016: Garry Linekar hosted BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ in ‘undies’

Gary Lineker kept his promise after the Foxes ended as table toppers. AFP

On 13 August 2016, former England captain Gary Lineker proved himself to be a man of his word. He had vowed to host the BBC football programme, ‘Match of the Day’, in his underwear if his boyhood club, Leicester City would be crowned champions of the English Premier League in the 2015/16 season.

Stunning the world, the Foxes made the miracle happen by coming on top of the League table from being the team that had just been promoted to the First Division. They were 10 points ahead of Arsenal who finished second in the tally. Gary Lineker had fulfilled his promise and came in front of the camera wearing boxers to host the opening segment of BBC’s MOTD in the 2016/17 Premier League season.

The former England striker presented the first part of the programme in which he appeared in a large pair of white shorts with a big Leicester City FC logo on the left leg and nothing else. In his quote, “It is a one-off and a sporting miracle that has landed me in my underwear”.

He discussed the new teams, new players, and new managers of the season along with Leicester’s opening game which turned out to be a disappointing one. The Foxes failed to pull off a desirable start to the fresh season as they endured a 2-1 defeat to Hull City. Gary Lineker went on to continue the show for almost 30 minutes until he got embarrassed by the reaction of his fellow hosts- Alan Shearer and Ian Wright. They were seen giggling while watching him.

However, Gary Lineker managed to keep a straight face. Before leaving his spot, he said, “I can’t bear the way you two are looking at me so enough of this nonsense, I’m going to get dressed.” In the latter half of the show, Gary Lineker returned fully dressed.

He had donned a light blue collared shirt, dark trousers, and a pair of brown shoes. After coming back to the screen, the 61-year-old analysed the next game between Manchester City and Sunderland.

Gary Lineker’s tweet was posted in December 2015 when Leicester was on the top of the table with five months left in the season. The announcement had created much noise on social media. The followers of the show were quite eager to see the former English striker’s attire.

During his sporting career, Gary Lineker had played 194 matches for the Foxes and netted 94 goals in total.

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