BBC staff are reportedly "disgusted" that Gary Lineker has not been sacked for his recent social media actions. The outgoing Match of the Day host re-posted a cartoon image of a rat accompanied by a video that showed Canadian-Palestinian lawyer Diana Buddu attacking Israel’s war in Gaza.

Campaign Against Antisemitism led backlash against the former England footballer, who has removed the post from his story, and his apparent endorsement of the emoji, as rats were regularly used as tropes by Nazi Germany to depict Jewish people. The Telegraph claim that a group of BBC figures say the corporation’s refusal to sack Lineker is “deeply upsetting to its Jewish staff”.

One anonymous Jewish member of staff said: “It is quite simply disgusting that the BBC has not kicked Lineker out. His repeated offensiveness to Jewish people has clearly brought the BBC into disrepute. The interpretation of Zionism he has shared is anti-Semitic and the fact that the BBC thinks it’s acceptable is deeply upsetting to its Jewish staff, myself included.”

A spokesperson for Lineker said that the 64-year-old was unaware of the connotations surrounding the image and deleted it upon learning that information.

They explained: “Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post,” he added. “Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”