Gary Lineker backs Remain vote in EU referendum
'Personally I believe there are plenty of reasons to remain, but barely any to leave', presenter says
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Your support makes all the difference.Gary Lineker has come out in support of Britain remaining in the European Union a day before the country votes in the referendum.
On Wednesday, the Match of the Day presenter told his 4.87 million Twitter followers he has found “plenty of reasons” to back remain but “barely any” to vote to leave the EU.
After receiving criticism from those on the opposing side of the debate, Lineker then pleaded with users to respect his view, saying the “hatred and bitterness is neither helpful nor necessary”.
The former England player is a popular force on social media and, as well as tweeting about football, regularly updates his many followers with his opinions on news and current affairs. Just last month, he branded the culture secretary John Whittingdale a "chump" over comments he'd made about the BBC.
Lineker is the latest in a string of former footballers who have openly stated how they intend to vote on Thursday. His tweet comes a day after David Beckham said he will be voting to remain because “we should be facing the problems of the world together and not alone”.
Lineker also tweeted a link to a Guardian opinion piece written by John Barnes, who yesterday was forced to state he’s backing the Remain campaign after Justice secretary Michael Gove claimed he was supporting the Leave campaign.
However, not all former footballers are aligned when it comes to the EU. The former England defender Sol Campbell is backing Brexit because he believes it will give British sporting talent better opportunities. Former England goalkeeper David James has also said he’ll be voting leave.
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