BBC Sport deletes tweet mocking Wayne Rooney after request from Gary Lineker

BBC Sport has deleted its tweet seeming to mock Wayne Rooney after a request from Gary Lineker.

Earlier today (2 January), the ex-Everton and Manchester United star was sacked as the manager of Birmingham City football club.

It seems to have been a bit of a rough run for Rooney with the team after failing to win 13 of his 15 games in charge.

And on New Year’s Day, the team lost again 3-0 to Leeds, so it looks like enough was enough.

Birmingham released a statement this morning announcing that results had not ‘met the expectations’ and that ‘change in management’ is in the club’s ‘best interests’.

And BBC Sport then had a rather savage way of announcing it too.

In a now deleted post, the account shared an edited snap of Rooney dressed as a member of the Peaky Blinders complete with the typical gloomy weather.

X/@BBCSport

With the popular BBC show set in Birmingham, it seems ironically fitting and the accompanying caption read: “By order of the Peaky Blinders, Wayne Rooney ahs been sacked by Birmingham City,” complete with a red cross emoji.

Ouch.

Fans were pretty confused by the post as some found it funny but others rather inappropriate.

And Match of the Day host Lineker wasn’t much of a fan either as he bluntly responded to the original post: “Delete this.”

The post was deleted from BBC Sport’s account not long after and the Walkers crisps man also deleted his own response.

Other posts from the account about Rooney today called his time a ‘nightmare’ and say ‘the plan failed’.

Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images

Rooney released a statement following his sacking, thanking the club for the ‘opportunity to manage’ the team.

He did say, however, that he does ‘not believe 13 weeks was sufficient to oversee the changes that were needed’.

The former England player continued: “Personally, it will take some time to get over this setback. I have been involved in professional football, as either a player or manager, since I was 16.

“Now I plan to take some time with my family as I prepare for the next opportunity in my journey as a manager.”

Well, in his wife Colleen’s Wagatha doc on Disney Plus, he did seem to have quite the interest in true crime and becoming lawyer so maybe he could use the time off to think about law school…

The BBC declined LADbible's request for comment.

Topics: BBC, Celebrity, Football, Gary Lineker, Sport, Twitter, Wayne Rooney

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_