Lineker’s number two admission

IT MAY have been the close marking of Mick McCarthy or it may have been Ireland’s ‘put ’em under pressure’ tactics, but England hero Gary Lineker has finally come clean.

Never caught short for pace, England’s finest striker has made the amazing admission that, unable to reach a toilet, he “relaxed himself” during the World Cup clash with Ireland in 1990.

Yes, England’s number 10 did a number two.

The incident happened during the opening game of the tournament in Sardinia and his horror show moment at the Stadio Sant’Elia — not quite Flushing Meadows — had originally become the stuff of urban legend after it was mentioned in Terry Butcher’s autobiography.

However, Lineker himself has now admitted that the incident did indeed take place during the second half of the match against the Boys in Green, which finished 1-1, and during which Lineker himself grabbed England’s first goal.

“I was not very well, I was poorly at half-time, there was a ball down the left-hand side, I tried to tackle someone, stretched, and then relaxed myself,” he admitted in a interview with the BBC to mark his 50th birthday. Lineker turned 50 last Tuesday.

Lineker added: “You can see me rubbing the ground like a dog; it was the most horrendous experience of my life.

“But I tell you I never found so much space in a game than I did that night after that happened!

“I was very fortunate it rained that night as it allowed me to do something about it, but it was messy — it just happened.”

Lineker brushed off his troubles as the tournament went on and scored three more goals to help England to the semi-finals in 1990, although his antics against Ireland never found as much fame as Gazza’s tears.

For those with strong stomachs, Lineker’s faux poo can bee seen at http://tinyurl.com/357nqzy