The BBC‘s new sports supremo is backing moves to bring an end to Gary Lineker‘s tenure as Match of the Day host, sources have told MailOnline.
Alex Kay-Jelski has been branded ‘the hatchet man’ behind the scenes of the BBC institution according to insiders, having axed Jermaine Jenas, 41, following his sexting scandal.
Sources now claim he wants to freshen up the flagship show by bringing in a new presenter, who could appeal more to a younger audience and believes the former England striker’s name does not carry as much weight as it once did.
Kay-Jelski, who has only been in the job six months, is also believed to be frustrated by Lineker’s outspoken views and foul language used on his The Rest Is Football podcast, which he believes reflects negatively on Match of the Day.
Plus, he views Lineker’s £1.35million a year salary as ‘excessive’ and has privately admitted Match of the Day viewers would tune in no matter the host.
An insider told MailOnline: ‘Lineker’s job is very much under threat.
‘He’s fronted Match of the Day for over 25 years, so the show is due a change, and Kay-Jelski is the man ruthless enough to trigger one.
‘His brutal axing of Jenas shows he’s not afraid to make big decisions and he has no qualms about potentially upsetting Lineker.
‘There’s a feeling within Match of the Day a new era is ready to kick in and Lineker will be the biggest casualty.’
Pictured: Alex Kay-Jelski (right) with his sister Sophie
Pictured: Lineker who receives a £1.35million a year salary from the BBC
MailOnline revealed last week the BBC had apparently drafted a press release announcing Gary Lineker’s immediate departure from Match of the Day.
Kay-Jelski was the alleged author of the email, having only started his Head of Sport job in April.
He shipped out Jenas, who according to some reports was being lined up to step into Lineker’s shoes at the helm of the flagship football show.
In the light of rumours Jenas had sent sexually inappropriate texts to younger female colleagues, Kay-Jelski launched an investigation into the case and ruthlessly sacked Jenas in a video call while he was on holiday with his family.
Once the decision was made, Kay-Jelski sent a terse email to the BBC’s entire sports staff announcing: ‘Hello all, I wanted to let you know that Jermaine Jenas is no longer working for the BBC. Thanks Alex.’
According to insiders, he has been equally tough in negotiations with Lineker over the renewal of his current contract, which expires at the end of the football season.
It is understood that Kay-Jelski was irritated by Lineker’s often outspoken comments on his non-BBC podcast is hosts alongside MoTD colleagues Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, which is produced by his own lucrative company Goalhanger.
Lineker sparked controversy this summer after describing England’s performances in the early stages of Euro 2024 as ‘s***’.
It was estimated he earned more than £125,000 from the podcast in the first two weeks of the Euros alone.
Despite being given ample opportunity to deny the Kay-Jelski email’s authenticity, the BBC has signally failed to do so, leaving observers with the strong impression that Lineker may be heading for the exit.
The email even included a quote from BBC director general Tim Davie hailing an ‘incredible’ career from a ‘world class presenter’.
The BBC refused to comment on the email but conceded it has not agreed a deal to renew Lineker’s contract, which runs to the end of the season.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘We have nothing to announce and we have not agreed next steps with regard to his contract. He is under contract until the end of the season.’
A representative for Lineker declined to comment , but the star teased viewers as he joked at the opening of last week’s show: ‘Seven matches on the way and it’s my final show… before the international break.’
Pictured: Alex Kay-Jelski (left) with his husband Andrew (right). Mr Kay-Jelski, who has only been in the job six months, is also believed to be frustrated by Lineker’s outspoken views and foul language
Pictured: Alex Kay-Jelski, the new BBC sport supremo with his sister Sophie
Pictured: Alex Kay-Jelski with his husband Andrew. Mr Kay-Jelski has privately admitted that Match of the Day viewers would tune in no matter the host
When asked about his future, Lineker told our reporter outside his home to ‘f*** off’.
Despite being ‘touted around’ by his agent with other broadcasters since last year in the wake of his suspension from Match of the Day in March 2023 for criticising the Conservative government’s asylum policy, no agreements have been announced.
In the summer the Mail reported that Lineker plotted a departure to its biggest rival – only to learn ITV was not interested.
We revealed a representative for the presenter made the overtures to ITV in the past 18 months.
Sources have indicated the conversations were aimed at sounding out if they wanted the former England player as a sports anchor, with his existing deal at the Corporation due to expire next summer.
The approach to ITV would suggest Lineker’s apparent willingness to jump ship and leave the BBC, although Lineker’s agent Jon Holmes rejected the claims as ‘rubbish’ and insisted ITV had in fact been keen to recruit Lineker ‘years ago’ but were knocked back by the presenter.
Meanwhile The Times reported that Amazon, which broadcasts 20 Premier League games a season, is happy with its line-up and although there were initial conversations with Channel 4 after it landed the rights to England’s Euro qualifiers and friendlies.
A foray into the US market may also not be the answer, a source told the Times.
One experienced sports broadcaster warned that while Lineker is very accomplished at presenting in the studio, there were risks with different settings.
The unnamed broadcaster said: ‘He has done brilliantly in forging a second career after football and is very safe and comfortable in a studio, where he has time to write witty one-liners and read the autocue, but when it comes to trying new and exciting things outside of that environment, he is a bit more limited.’
Believed to be heading the negotiations with Lineker, Kay-Jelski has already proved he will be no pushover.
He prospered in the cut-and-thrust world of print sports journalism, heading the sports desks at the Mail and The Times, before moving to The Athletic as Editor-in-chief and then the BBC.
He is a father-of-two boys with his husband, high-flying French-born City executive Andrew Kay-Jelski, 38. Alex Kay-Jelski graduated from Edinburgh University in French and Spanish before beginning his career in journalism.
The only controversy in his career to date was provoking the ire of JK Rowling and Sharron Davies with a piece in The Times about trans women athletes.
Gary Lineker has said it’s ‘natural’ for him to have discussions about his future with the BBC
Lineker addressed his future on The Rest Is Football with Alan Shearer and Micah Richards
He suggested that having separate categories for trans competitors was like having ‘special categories for Jamaican sprinters and Ethiopian marathon runners’. He added: ‘Sounds mad, doesn’t it? Nasty, even.’
JK Rowling and others objected to their concerns about the fairness of biological men participating in female categories being compared to racists.
Upon his appointment to the BBC, Rowling tweeted it was ‘utterly predictable’ someone like Kay-Jelski would be appointed by the BBC to the prominent role, citing what she described as the broadcaster’s ‘shameful’ record on gender issues.
He had also claimed that athletes who spoke out on trans sport, such as Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies, were ‘not experts’.
He seemed to compare those who portrayed trans athletes as ‘threatening’ to racists who might say things such as ‘don’t let black men in the same shops as you or they’ll rape your women.
But in an effort to defuse the row, he issued a statement in June pledging to leave his personal views ‘at the door’ after he was criticised for dismissing concerns about trans sportswomen.
He said he had been ‘calling for kindness in the debate’ but would ‘not be advocating for any position in my role at the BBC’.
Mr Kay-Jelski was contacted by MailOnline.