The BBC said on Friday that Gary Lineker will “step back” from presenting until an agreement is made about how he uses social media. This comes after he criticised the new asylum policy of the British government, which caused an impartiality row.
The former England footballer who now hosts the popular show “Match of the Day” said the way the new policy was announced sounded like Nazi Germany.
A BBC representative said, “The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.
“The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting Match Of The Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.”
The fight started when Lineker replied on Twitter to a video of Home Secretary Suella Braverman talking about plans to stop people from crossing the Channel in small boats.
Lineker, who is 62, wrote, “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s.”
In order to stop thousands of migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats, the Conservative government wants to make it illegal for illegal immigrants to ask for asylum and send them somewhere else, like Rwanda.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons earlier this week that stopping the boats is “the people’s priority.” He also promised to “break the criminal gangs” that make money from the journeys.
But groups that fight for people’s rights and the United Nations said that the law would make Britain an international outlaw because it breaks European and UN rules about asylum.
Lineker tweeted Thursday that he was “very much looking forward” to hosting Match of the Day on Saturday.
He had told reporters outside his London home that he stood by his criticism of the immigration policy and did not worry about being fired by the BBC.
In a statement released by the BBC on Friday, Lineker’s sports reporting was called “second to none.”
“We have never said that Gary should be an opinion-free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him,” it said. “But we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies,.”
Soon after, Ian Wright, who used to play for Arsenal and England, said that he would not be on the show on Saturday to show his support for Lineker.
“Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow,” he tweeted. “Solidarity.”
When Tim Davie was appointed director-general of the BBC at the end of 2020, he issued a warning to employees about their use of social media, and new policies regarding such use have since been implemented.
The staff was told that, just like with BBC content, they need to follow editorial guidelines and have editorial oversight.
Lineker is a freelancer for the BBC. He is not a full-time employee and is not in charge of news or political content, so he does not have to follow the same rules about fairness.
