Brits who filmed viral Gary Lineker video reveal truth that wasn’t shown on camera

The men who originally filmed and posted a video of Gary Lineker walking with a woman on the streets of Mexico have clarified how it all came about.

Months on from Lineker's departure from the BBC as a result of a post he shared about zionism, the former Match of the Day host was filmed by two blokes on holiday in Mexico last month, with a short clip of the interaction being posted on X.

The man behind the camera was heard telling the former Tottenham, Leicester and Barcelona footballer to 'enjoy his holiday'.

However, far-right activist Tommy Robinson reposted the viral video, in which he wrongly suggested that the pundit was up to something with the woman, typing: "What are you up to here @GaryLineker?"

Lineker didn't hold back in responding to the anti-Islam campaigner, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, though, with him saying in a repost: "If you must know, I was going to a chemist with my daughter-in-law, to get some medicine for her unwell husband….my son.

"Hatred is a dreadful weakness."

And now, the lads who filmed the short interaction have spoken out to reveal the truth that wasn't actually shown on camera.

Speaking to Metro, Aflie and Bradley, both 23, explained that they had just left a bar when they spotted Lineker, his son Harry and his daughter-in-law Bella in the street around two-and-a-half weeks ago.

They filmed their friendly exchange and posted it to their social media channels, with no idea that Robinson would go on to use the clip against the former Three Lions striker.

Robinson's post has accumulated over 13.5 million views, though Alfie called the interaction 'innocent' and nothing more.

"I was pretty sure that we’d seen his son, Harry, who I recognised, and his daughter-in-law go by," he recalled.

He added: "We then paid our bill and started walking in the direction that they had gone and then we passed them walking back the other way.

"We’re not obsessed with football, we’re from the Cotswolds and more into rugby and cricket, so we weren’t nervous to talk to him, even though he’s a household name in England."

Alfie said that it 'turned into something a lot bigger' and that they had no intention for it to go beyond 'nice little innocent interaction'.

The pair, known online as @theraybandits, have been posting content around their travels in Central America, though meeting Lineker came in Puerto Escondido, a port town on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Bradley further explained: "In the video we put up the son was at the front, but when the clip went viral he was not there because it had been shortened.

"At first we didn’t know who the young woman was either, but after searching around online we found out she’s the son’s wife.

"Obviously the clip has been used out of context, which is a shame, because we like Gary Lineker, even if his political views are controversial," he said, adding that the clip was 'taken without our permission' in a slanderous manner.

They have since posted a video explaining how the encounter came about, but voices of far-right accounts seemed to drown them out, as they pointed out: "The reach on Robinson’s video had 15 million views and ours had 1 million, so very few people are going to see that by comparison."