BBC1's Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has a secret. He once - how to put it politely? - took a dump in the middle of the pitch during a game in the World Cup finals in Italy in 1990. Surprised you didn't notice it at the time? As the man himself says: "Unless you know, you wouldn't know. But when you know, you do know." We couldn't have put it better ourselves. "I was not very well, I was poorly at half-time," explains the great man, who wore the number 10 shirt but now might be better known for a number two. Anyway, back to Gary. "I tried to tackle someone, stretched and relaxed myself and erm ... " Do go on. "I was very fortunate that it rained that night so I could do something about it, but it was messy. It was the opening game of the 1990 World Cup against the Republic of Ireland. You can see myself rubbing the ground like a dog trying to clean it. It was the most horrendous experience of my life." It did have one upside though – the Irish players were predictably unwilling to go near him. "I have never found so much space after that in my life." Let's hope he remembered to wash his hands before tucking into his post-match crisps.

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