Gary Lineker embraced his first day of post-BBC freedom by defiantly sharing a poem of support for Palestine which includes a George Orwell quotation.

Lineker shared a verse by Nikita Gill, who had been expressing heartbreak for paediatrician Alaa al Najjar after her nine children were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Just hours after leaving the Match of the Day studios for the last time, Lineker shared Gill’s poem on his Instagram story between tributes after his BBC goodbye.

The verse shared by Lineker said: “A mother on duty caring for her patients receives the remains of nine of her children. We are told to ignore this.

“A child who can barely walk struggles to find safety through flames in the aftermath of a bomb, unable to breathe. We are told to ignore this.”

It then ends with a quote from Orwell which says: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

The verse ends with: “We must refuse to abdicate our duty to each other and see the truth for what is before us.”

Lineker had been left wiping away tears on Sunday night after a star-studded montage paid tribute to his 26 years as Match of the Day’s anchor. He explained on his Rest is Football podcast, however, that it was the sight of his sons talking about him on the video that had left him weeping.