Gary Lineker has apologised after a "bad taste" joke about England team security following the Brussels terror attacks sparked an online backlash.
The Match of the Day host had replied to a tweet from a journalist quoting Roy Hodgson who said security were working “very hard” to ensure the team’s safety.
Mr Lineker, 55, replied: “I think we all worry about our defence.”
This morning, he told his 4.6 million Twitter followers he was sorry for the joke and it was not meant to be disrespectful.
He wrote: "Apologies for my tweet about England's defence.
"It was not intended to be disrespectful or in the context it's been taken. Sorry my mistake."
The original tweet, since deleted, had sparked a flurry of comments from hundreds of Twitter users, accusing the ex-Tottenham player of being “insensitive” and acting in “bad taste”.
Simon Rookledge said: “First time I’ve ever disagreed with your humour. Not the time or the place.”
Brian Kavanagh wrote: “Who makes jokes about something like that? Not clever.”
Another user defended the tweet saying: “People need to have a tag on their Twitter profile which simply means ‘I'm offended by everything.’”
