Frank Lampard didn’t appear to take Gary Lineker’s balding gag too well (Image: BBC)
Gary Lineker will apologise to Frank Lampard after a gag at the Chelsea icon’s expense backfired. The Match of the Day host made a cheeky quip about Lampard going bald live on air following Germany’s Euro 2024 victory over Hungary.
Lineker had been referring to the stunning backdrop to the BBC studio in Berlin, which featured the Brandenburg Gate. Behind the historic momentum is the back of a giant screen, where tens of thousands of fans had just watched the host nation’s victory.
He joked that if the screen was taken down, they would be able to see all of the fans, adding: “But if they took the screen down they wouldn’t be able to watch the game.”
A smiling Lampard then said: “They’d see my head. They wouldn’t turn up for that!” Lineker then cruelly joked: “No you’re right, nobody wants to see the back of your head these days, that’s for sure.”
Lampard initially smiled at the comment but his face turned rather more serious. A clip of the awkward exchange has gone viral on social media with more than 3million views.
On seeing the reaction to his attempted gag, Lineker has insisted he meant no offence and clarified he would say sorry to the former England midfielder. He said on The Rest Is Football podcast with Micah Richards: “I got myself in a bit of a pickle with Frank Lampard, it’s gone viral. I feel bad.
Lineker has explained his joke at Lampard’s expense (Image: The Rest is Football/YouTube)
“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.”
Lineker added: “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.”
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1913350/gary-lineker-frank-lampard-euro-2024-bbc