Gary Lineker has hit back at Piers Morgan after he took a savage swipe at the David Beckham over his footballing ability during Sunday's Super Bowl LVI.
The TV personality made the dig during the NFL showpiece which saw the Los Angeles Rams claim a late 23-20 triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The result was cause for celebration for the owner of Morgan's beloved Arsenal, Stan Kroenke, as he received the prestigious Vince Lombardi Trophy on his team's behalf.
Morgan, who was in attendance at the £4billion state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium for the Super Bowl, took to Twitter to provide updates throughout and couldn't help but take a cheap swipe at Beckham.
Accompanying an image of iconic Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, Morgan wrote: "Great to watch a Beckham who can actually play football... #SuperBowl."
However, the post irked another former England legend in Gary Lineker, who jumped to Beckham's defence and hit back at Morgan over his "dislike" of the footballing icon.
Lineker replied: "You might dislike him, for whatever reason, but David Beckham was a great footballer. One of our finest."
Morgan also took to Twitter to express his delight at attending his first ever Super Bowl and revealed he was rooting for the Rams given their Arsenal connections.
Prior to the game, he posted: "Very excited to be going to my first Super Bowl. Especially as if the Los Angeles Rams win, it’s basically a win for Arsenal. #Kroenke."
While Morgan was therefore understandably delighted with the result, former England captain Beckham would have no doubt have been pleased too, given his ties to the city.
HAVE YOUR SAY ! Where does David Beckham rank in the debate over England's greatest ever players of all time? Join the discussion in the comments section .
Beckham spent six seasons with LA Galaxy in the MLS during the twilight years of his career and established himself as a club icon.
Regarded as one of the greatest English footballers of all-time and having won 19 major trophies during his illustrious 20-year career, Beckham achieved more than enough to disprove Morgan's cheeky Twitter jibe.
His namesake, Beckham Jr, endured a mixed night with a knee injury forcing him to limp off after he had given the Rams a dream start with a 17-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
However, his team-mates rallied late on to complete a dramatic turnaround and seal a win which resulted in the 29-year-old scooping a whopping $1million bonus.
The triumph was a second Super Bowl success for the Rams, whose only previous victory came back in 2000 when they were based in St. Louis.
Arsenal's Kroenke secured full ownership of the franchise ten years later, before relocating them to Los Angeles back in 2016.
“It's amazing, and I am just really proud of this group," the controversial American tycoon declared in his Super Bowl acceptance speech. "So happy for them, and then you talk about these players.
“They’re unbelievable, and this just hung in there. It was a tough game and I’m just so proud of them executing like they did.
“As far as building this stadium goes, I think it turned out alright.
“Thanks to the great fans of Los Angeles, your first Super Bowl trophy in Rams house.”
