‘I thought it was my phone!’ Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker on the infamous Porngate moment

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JUNE 28: Tv pundits Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker are seen in the tv studio in the stands during the FA Cup Quarter Final match between Newcastle United and Manchester City at St. James Park on June 28, 2020 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/Pool via Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

As Gary Lineker and co. covered the FA Cup third round replay between Wolves and Liverpool back in January, a rather unexpected sound penetrated the BBC's studio at Molineux.

The Beeb had to apologise to viewers after loud moaning noises of a sexual nature interrupted Lineker's discussion of the game with pundits Danny Murphy and Paul Ince.

Amid much confusion and a fair amount of amusement, the source of what has since been dubbed 'Porngate' was found to be a mobile phone taped to the back of the set.

And Lineker and Alan Shearer – was part of the BBC commentary team that day – have a good old giggle when they recall the incident to FourFourTwo.

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"I was interviewing Alan when it was actually going on," says Lineker.

"Yeah, I was on the co-comms," continues Shearer, "so I was inside the stadium. I could hear it, and there was a part of me thinking it was my phone..."

At this point, Lineker, ever the joker, interjects. "It's the porn he was listening to the night before!" he exclaims – to which Shearer can't help but laugh with his Match of the Day colleague.

"I'd been tricked by people sending me that video so many times," Shearer adds, "and I'm thinking, 'Has it gone off on my phone, in my pocket?'. I tried to be professional and ignore it; I only started laughing when you [Lineker] started laughing!"

The prank turned out to be the work of notorious YouTuber Daniel Jarvis aka Jarvo 69.

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Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...

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