Mark Chapman cracked a joke about Wayne Rooney during the first Match of the Day show of the new season after Gary Lineker stepped down as host. Chapman is one of three presenters replacing Lineker, with Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan also making up part of the rotating cast.

The show returned on Saturday night for the 2025/26 season, and Chapman referenced the changing of the guard during the show's opening. Chapman hinted that there had been a change on the panel, but instead of speaking about Lineker, he referenced the Rooney addition instead.

At the start of the show, he said: "Evening. The Premier League is back and Match of the Day is back. You may have seen and heard that there is a big change to the show this season and that is Wayne Rooney has joined us as a regular pundit. Some things don't change though, Alan [Shearer] is still here."

Lineker had presented Match of the Day since 1999 but announced his decision to step down following criticism surrounding a social media post regarding the ongoing Israel and Palestine conflict. Lineker reshared a post labelled "Zionism explained in two minutes", which was illustrated with a rat - which has in the past been used in anti-Jewish propaganda.

Commenting on his predecessor, Chapman told The Sun: “I saw him not long ago and he said he had been asked in an interview whether he’d given us tips. And he said, ‘Why? What? What on earth would I be doing phoning you three up to offer you tips? Why would I be deemed to be that arrogant to do that?’.

“Experience-wise, we’ve all been doing it for a long time. I feel a bit sorry for Gary being asked that question because he’s on a hiding to nothing. When I started doing stuff for Sky, the first person I spoke to was Kelly, to get a lay of the land, not how to do the job.”

Logan added: “I’m sure if Gary had something very practical he wanted to pass on, we’d all receive it gratefully. But as Mark says, he doesn’t feel he needs to. I know where the biscuits are kept.”

Lineker signed off his Match of the Day career earlier this year by assuring viewers that the programme would continue to be a success after his departure. His final words were: "I'd like to wish Gabby, Mark and Kelly all the very best when they sit in this chair. The programme is in the best of hands."