London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Gary Lineker stunned by Sports Personality of the Year snub

Gary Lineker stunned by Sports Personality of the Year snub

BBC Sports Personality of the Year host Gary Lineker cannot believe that US open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is not among the 2022 nominees.
The six nominees for the 2022 award were announced on Tuesday ahead of the live show on BBC One on Wednesday night.

England football star Beth Mead is the overwhelming favourite to win the award, according to Coral, having won the Golden Boot and been named player of the tournament during the Lionesses Euro 2022 victory in the summer.

The Arsenal forward is joined on the shortlist by England cricket captain Ben Stokes, snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan, curler Eve Muirhead, runner Jake Wightman and gymnast Jessica Gadirova.

All are fine contenders, but there is one notable omission that many have been shocked by: Fitzpatrick.

The 28-year-old won the US Open back in June, his first major championship and has been widely tipped to achieve further success, with Paul McGinley claiming Fitzpatrick can go on to win six major titles – something only two British golfers have ever achieved before.

The former Ryder Cup captain said: ‘There are very few players you see that have that obsession with the game to the extent that Tiger Woods had it and [Nick] Faldo had it but I see it in this guy as well.


‘Everything about his life revolves around his dedication to the game.’

His exclusion from SPOTY is therefore baffling, something that football legend and the award’s host Lineker pointed out, tweeting: ‘Starting rehearsals for BBC SPOTY and saw the list of contenders doesn’t contain Matt Fitzpatrick!’

The Match of the Day presenter wasn’t the only one to express his shock at the snub, with Ian Poulter adding: ‘Sorry but complete disregard for Matt Fitzpatrick makes this event a continued farce and joke.

‘I experienced first hand how much of a joke this was ten years ago. Promised myself then I’d never waste time attending or watching again.’

SPOTY have been criticised in the past for the lack of golf recognition, with the last winner, as voted by the public, being Faldo back in 1989.

The last golfer to be on the shortlist was Danny Willett who finished last of 16 nominees back in 2016.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×