Gary Lineker has branded a “smear” article by the Daily Mail “utter lies” and “laughable”.
Saturday’s edition of the paper carries a piece detailing his and ex-wife’s “amorous display on-board a British Airways flight” that “shocked fellow passengers”.
The incident in question occurred in 2009 when the couple were on their honeymoon.
The only description of the “amorous antics” is from fellow passenger “Teresa Mahon” who gives no detail of what actually went on.
Lineker, who is described in the piece as “polishing his halo after speaking out to support child refugees in Calais”, called the piece “utter lies”.
The piece also says:
Not content with engaging in political activism about the child migrant crisis — branding the media coverage ‘racist’ — the face of Walkers Crisps is now meddling in American politics.
This week, Lineker told U.S. podcast Planet Futbol: ‘I’m slightly worried about its politics at present… extraordinary goings-on there.’
Lineker added of America, where he is doing an increasing amount of TV punditry: ‘Most of the time I get a degree of anonymity, which is very welcome.’
This from someone who presented the first Match Of The Day programme this season wearing only his underwear.
Lineker has called out numerous publications in recent weeks for their coverage of child refugees and the demonisation of the judges behind the recent Article 50 ruling.
The row over child migrants escalated as the press questioned the supposed age of some of the children arriving in Britain.
Lineker tweeted about a now-discredited claim that one of those pictured was in fact an interpretor.
In reaction to the High Court Article 50 ruling, the Daily Express front page said: “WE MUST GET OUT OF THE EU”:
It went on to claim that the UK “faces a crisis as grave as anything since the dark days when Churchill vowed we would fight them on the beaches” and called on its readers to “fight, fight, fight” for their “freedom”.
It also likened the EU’s treatment of the UK to being raped and forcibly sterilised.
It asked: “Where were the self-styled champions of British sovereignty when the Mother of Parliaments was being forcibly sterilised by the European Communities Act and then politically raped by the treaties of Maastricht, Dublin and Lisbon?”
The paper added: “Truly, November 3, 2016, was the day democracy died.”