Alan Shearer has fired a cheeky dig at Gary Lineker on his Match of the Day return amid the BBC presenter confirming he is "under review" by Twitter.
The 62-year-old revealed on Saturday that he was being looked into by the social media platform after fans spotted that he lost his blue tick. He was asked by one social media user where his verification mark had gone, having had one for a number of years.
Lineker admitted that he has no clue where it has disappeared to but added he is under review by Twitter. Lineker tweeted to his 8.9million followers: "No idea. I’m under review apparently. @Twitter @TwitterSupport."
Match of the Day co-host Alan Shearer joined in to poke fun at the former Leicester and Tottenham striker. He commented, with a winking emoji: "Is this really you!!?"
Other viewers also suggested Lineker hadn't being paying the money towards being verified after Elon Musk changed the way the social media platform is being run. Musk, the owner of Twitter, tweeted: "Starting April 15th, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in For You recommendations.
"The is the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle. Voting in polls will require verification for same reason."
This comes a matter of weeks after Lineker was pulled off presenting Match of the Day on March 11 by the BBC for an alleged offensive tweet - where he likened Suella Braverman's migrant boats plan to "Germany in the '30's".
The decision sparked anger from the public and saw the likes of Ian Wright and Alan Shearer also pull out from their punditry duties as MOTD lasted just 20 minutes. However, two days later, Lineker was reinstated to his position and returned to presenting duties for the FA Cup game between Manchester City and Burnley on March 18.
He didn't return to Match of the Day's traditional highlights show until after the international break - and was reunited with Shearer on the programme during Saturday night's edition. The ex-Newcastle front man could not help but issue a cheeky dig at Lineker for his actions.
Shearer said: "You've had a few yellow cards, you'll get another one soon. You'll be on the naughty step again!"
Lineker posted a message to fans after the BBC fiasco was ended back on March 13. He said: "After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming.
"I have been presenting sport on the BBC for almost 3 decades and am immeasurably proud to work with the best and fairest broadcaster in the world. I cannot wait to get back in the MOTD chair."
