Gary Lineker latest news: Gary Lineker – latest: Ian Wright and Alan Shearer boycott Match of the Day after BBC decision
Downing Street calls Gary Lineker’s criticism of asylum policy ‘unacceptable’
Ian Wright and Alan Shearer withdrew from Match of the Day this weekend in “solidarity” with Gary Lineker after the host was told to “step down” from his position.
The presenter was embroiled in a dispute over impartiality after comparing the language used to introduce a new government asylum policy to 1930s Germany.
Ian Wright responded to the news on Twitter, saying: “Everyone knows what Match of the Day means to me but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.”
While Alan Shearer said he had told the BBC he would not be appearing on the show on Saturday night.
It’s not yet clear who will represent him on Saturday’s Match Of The Day.
The row was sparked by his reaction on Twitter to a Home Office video in which Home Secretary Suella Braverman revealed the government’s plans to bar migrants from crossing the Channel on small boats.
Micah Richards is also boycotting the Match of the Day
Micah Richards has also taken the position of boycotting Match of the Day after Gary Lineker was removed from the BBC.
He joins Ian Wright, Alan Shearer and Alex Scott as the list of pundits disapproving of the show grows.
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 7:34 p.m
Following the news that Gary Lineker would not be presenting Match Of The Day on Saturday, former head of BBC TV news Roger Mosey told Sky News: “Normally you would assume that a complaint about a tweet would go through the editorial process BBC and they would make a decision at the end and you would expect a presenter to go along with the outcome of that process.
“So I hope Gary would do that. You can see from the BBC’s perspective that when Gary says I’m not going to stick to a process, there’s a fundamental challenge, if you will, of the discipline, of running a production team and a set of presenters, what does that do a lot difficult.
“But you would hope that this is not the ultimate test of the BBC’s editorial systems and analysis and you would have hoped they would have come to a happier conclusion, although I have always been pessimistic because I see both sides are be buried.”
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 7:15 p.m
Alex Scott is stepping out of the Match of the Day presenter job
Football pundit Alex Scott is the latest high-profile BBC presenter to step down from match-of-the-day hosting job after it was announced Gary Lineker would be stepping down.
Alex Scott posted a meme on her Twitter page where Bernie Sanders says “Nah, not me” followed by the caption FYI (FYI).
Her post comes after Alan Shearer and Ian Wright decided to step down from the show after the BBC announced their decision.
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 7:05 p.m
Gary Lineker’s resignation shows the BBC “is serious about impartiality,” says Nadine Dorries
Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said she welcomed Gary Lineker’s decision to withdraw from Match Of The Day, saying it showed the BBC was “serious about impartiality”.
“The news that GaryLineker has been removed for investigation is welcome and shows that the BBC is serious about impartiality,” the TalkTV host tweeted.
“Gary is entitled to his opinion – freedom of expression is paramount. Many non-public broadcasters can accommodate him and his views, and he would be better paid.”
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 7:00 p.m
The BBC’s decision to remove Gary Lineker from hosting Match Of The Day was “inevitable,” said a former Conservative culture secretary.
Sir John Whittingdale told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “I think it was inevitable.
“The problem is that Gary Lineker has made it clear that he intends to keep tweeting his views.
“And he is of course entitled to express his views, but the problem is that he is also a very highly – in fact the highest paid – person working for the BBC and closely associated with the BBC.
“And I’m afraid those two things are incompatible.”
He added that Lineker was “not authorized” to voice his views despite being closely associated with the company and that many BBC journalists “have made it clear that they do not like the fact that Gary Lineker regularly reports on these way breaks the rules”.
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 6:45 p.m
NEW: Alan Shearer joins boycott of Match of the Day
Football pundit Alan Shearer has also joined his compatriot Ian Wright in a boycott of the game of the day.
He tweeted: “I have informed the BBC that I will not be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.”
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 6:39 p.m
Suella Braverman is ‘offended’ by Gary Lineker’s Nazi comparison because her husband is Jewish
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has accused Gary Lineker of softening the tragedy of the Holocaust as ministers clashed with the BBC presenter over his criticism of their asylum plans.
Ms Braverman said she found the comments “offensive” because her husband is Jewish.
“So my children are descended directly from people who were murdered in gas chambers during the Holocaust,” she told the BBC Political Thinking podcast.
“Throwing away these sorts of flippant analogies diminishes the unspeakable tragedy that millions of people went through and I don’t think anything happening in Britain today comes close to what happened in the Holocaust.
“So I find it a lazy and unhelpful comparison.”
Read the full story below:
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 6:30 p.m
Labor calls BBC’s decision to suspend Gary Lineker ‘cowardice’
Labor said the BBC’s decision to take Gary Lineker off the air was “an attack on freedom of expression”.
A spokesman said: “The BBC’s cowardly decision to take Gary Lineker off the air is an attack on freedom of expression in the face of political pressure.
“Tory politicians who campaign for people to be sacked for disagreeing with government policy should be laughed at, not supported. BBC should rethink.”
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 6:15 p.m
Dan Walker describes how the news unfolded
Channel 5 News presenter Dan Walker said Gary Lineker told him “they (the BBC) told me I had to resign”.
Speaking on the Channel 5 news, Walker said: “It’s one of those weird situations where I’m actually texting the man (Lineker) at the moment.
“And I asked Gary Lineker if he was resigning or if the BBC had told him to resign and I told him I’d read that text out on the air if he answered me.
“There’s a word in there I can’t use, but he said, ‘No, they told me I have to resign.’
“So Gary Lineker wishes to continue presenting Match Of The Day and does not apologize for what he has said but he has said it is a decision by the BBC to force him not to present the program at the moment.”
(Getty Images)
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 6:06 p.m
‘Hard to see Lineker coming back now’: Twitter reacts to Gary Lineker’s suspension
Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy said it was “hard to imagine Lineker coming back now” after Gary Lineker will not present Match Of The Day tomorrow.
The journalist tweeted: “Presumably the BBC is being asked to explain which of their policies have been breached and why other regular presenters, contributors, comedians and actors who tweet political views are not breaching them. Hard to imagine Lineker coming back now.”
Alastair Campbell has branded the BBC’s decision to tweet about Gary Lineker’s comments as an “act of political cowardice” that threatens democracy.
The former journalist and Labor spindoctor described the move in announcing Lineker was stepping down from the Match Of The Day as “pathetic” and “cowardly” during an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live.
When asked about his stance on the matter, he said: “I will now speak more clearly because I fear this is an act of utter political cowardice. If it was wrong in principle, they should have fired him the other day.”
Thomas KingsleyMarch 10, 2023 6:00 p.m