Former Tottenham and Leicester City star Gary Lineker has defended footballers from the current pay dispute.

Many government officials want football players to take a pay cut to help clubs pay all their other staff members during the COVID-19 outbreak.

While Lineker acknowledges the incredible money footballers earn, he defended them from calls to immediately cut their wages.

"It's now up to the players how they respond, let's give them a chance to respond, before this hugely judgmental pile-on that we always get nowadays," he told Sky News on Thursday.

"Football is always an easy target but where are the big businessmen, where are the CEOs of these enormous companies, what are they doing at the moment?

"Nobody ever seems to care about them but footballers, who do an unbelievable amount of good in the community that never gets reported, who do lots of things to raise awareness during this dreadfully difficult time.

"So let's wait and see, and see what they do.

"I'll be the first to criticise them if they do nothing."