- Gary Lineker has divided opinion with a joke he made about Steve Clarke
- Some think his joke about the Scottish manager was harsh, but others support him.
- Listen to It’s all starting! Why does Germany feel like a country that is not ready to host Euro 2024?
Gary Lineker has been criticized for a “very disrespectful” joke at the expense of Scotland manager Steve Clarke, but many agree with the presenter.
After Clarke had an interview with BBC Sport, Lineker sarcastically said: “Well, you’ve had enough of Steve Clarke’s energy and enthusiasm, haven’t you?” before laughing.
Clarke is tasked with galvanizing his Scottish troops for a critical match against Switzerland tonight before facing Hungary.
Scotland’s target for the group stage is four points but they got off to a humiliating start when they lost 5-1 to hosts Germany on the opening night of Euro 2024.
Here’s Gary Lineker in***. Do you think I’d say the same about boring Gareth Southgate? “I doubt it,” said one X user as he shared the clip of her comments.
Gary Lineker has been criticized for a joke he made about Scottish manager Steve Clarke
However, many agreed that the presenter was right to suggest that Clarke could have more “energy”.
“Just saw that, that’s so disrespectful to Sir Stevie,” wrote another.
“That whole segment had a mocking undertone,” one thought.
Despite the avalanche of criticism, many said they felt Lineker was speaking sensibly.
“What did Lineker say was wrong?” He is absolutely spot on,” said one user.
“Well to be fair I would totally get demotivated listening to that guy (Clarke),” wrote another.
“Lineker is right though: Clarke is most boring and uninspiring,” said one.
Another commented: ‘I can see both sides here. Lineker is right that Clarke is incredibly boring, but at the same time the questions were ridiculous and I really wonder what people expect him to say.
Scotland are widely seen as the weakest team in their group, made up of Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.
Scotland are looking to bounce back against Switzerland after being crushed 5-1 by Germany.
They have never made it out of the group stage at a major tournament, despite eight attempts at the World Cup and three at the European Championship.
However, with a favorable tournament format allowing 16 of the 24 teams in the group stage to advance, Euro 2024 represents a huge opportunity for Scotland to make history.
Switzerland, which defeated Hungary 3-1 in its opening match, is a veteran of the knockout phase and poses a demanding challenge.
Before the match, Clarke told reporters: “For us, (the task) is to regroup and start again.” It’s that easy. It’s about doing better, exactly that.
“The players want to come back and play better and I think that’s quite normal when you play so badly and you get disappointed.”
‘As I said when I spoke to many of you on Sunday, it’s about doing better, working better at the game.
“We thought we were well prepared for Germany, but obviously we weren’t. So this time I think it’s better not to say too much and I hope that with our actions on the field we show that we prepared well and a positive result would be wonderful.”