The Sun called for Gary Lineker to be fired last October. On their front page, they demanded that he be slung "out on his ears" by his employers, the BBC.
The paper had grown sufficiently irritated by Lineker's anti-Brexit stance and his frequent pro-immigrant tweets to call for his sacking.
They have since prefaced every mention of his name with the term "luvvie". As ever in cases like this, they reminded the world that both they and their readers are licence fee payers in every second sentence.
Now, another right-wing British publication is taking aim at Match of the Day's 'luvvie-in-chief'.
The Daily Mail carries a lengthy 2,600 word article in today's edition which is entitled 'Holier than thou hypocrite'. It accuses Lineker of using a complex scheme to avoid paying as much tax as the "man and woman in the street."
The paper linked him to the Ingenious Media tax avoidance dispute which relates to a period in the mid-noughties and involved many high profile figures in British sport and media.
The article, written by Guy Adams, finishes with this typical flourish.
This sanctimonious member of the liberal elite — whose lifestyle is a million miles from that of most football fans who dutifully pay their taxes — continues to air his political views from that smug moral high ground.
Lineker retaliated against the article on Twitter this afternoon, saying that he will not be "bullied".
I have always paid my taxes on time and in full. The Daily Mail continues its vendetta against me because they don't agree with my views.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 9, 2017
I will continue to speak up for refugees and immigrants and British values of tolerance and free speech. I won't be bullied by them.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 9, 2017
Incidentally, The paper quoted the same two MPs quoted in the Sun article which called for his sacking.
Tory backbencher David Davies - not the same guy as Brexit minister David Davis - and Alec Shelbrooke condemned Lineker for advancing political opinions back in October. Now the same two have lambasted Lineker for not paying the same taxes as the aforementioned man and woman on the street.
