Gary Lineker latest: BBC decision ‘wrong’ as Match of the Day commentators join boycott

This was not the first time Mr Lineker has been vocal about his political views on Twitter – and history suggests it may not be the last.

Here is my colleague Matt Mathers takes a look at some of the most notable moments over the years:

Deputy Labor leader Angela Rayner said Gary Lineker’s suspension from Match Of The Day was an “attack on free speech”.

She tweeted: “The BBC’s cowardly decision to ax Gary Lineker is an attack on free speech in the face of political pressure from Tory politicians. They should reconsider.”

Richard Ayre, a former controller of editorial policy at the BBC, said Gary Lineker could be presenting his last Match Of The Day.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Ayre said: “It’s an irreconcilable position, I think, between the BBC guidelines and Gary who, quite understandably, feels he has the right as an individual to express his views on any matter, as long as politically controversial. it might be, and the BBC has a different view because its guidelines set out certain rules for people who are really high-profile BBC personalities and I don’t think it’s likely in the coming days that they’ll compromise.

“It may already be the last time we see Gary presenting Match Of The Day, unfortunately.”

Mr Eyre insisted there was no hypocrisy in the BBC’s failure to discipline Lord Sugar, who is said to have publicly supported political positions.

He said the company’s guidelines referred to people with a “particularly high BBC public profile” and there was “quite a gap” between Lineker and Lord Sugar in this regard.

Asked about any double standards against BBC chairman Richard Sharpe, Mr Ayre said the broadcaster does not appoint and “cannot fire” its chairman.

Premier League clubs have been told they will not be taking requests for interviews on Match of the Day today, according to the BBC.

Follows By the Independent reported earlier this morning that clubs had major concerns about allowing their employers to speak on the programme, with players and managers joining the boycott of the programme.

The BBC is now ready to take any decision out of its hands and the 12 Premier League teams playing today will not be taking requests for post-match interviews.

The Professional Footballers’ Association said it would stand by the players if they refused to speak on Match of the Day in solidarity with Gary Lineker. Fines could have been imposed for failure to fulfill broadcasting duties,

The BBC’s former director-general said taking Gary Lineker off air was a “mistake”.

Gary Lineker was asked from his regular Match Of The Day hosting spot after a tweet comparing the language used to launch the government’s asylum seeker policy to 1930s Germany on Twitter.

Asked whether Lineker’s tweet was acceptable, Greg Dyke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We live in a world of free speech and therefore, yes. He didn’t broadcast it to the BBC, it was a private tweet.”

Mr Dyke went on to say: “I think what the BBC did yesterday was wrong. And since I left the BBC, I have never publicly criticized the leadership of the BBC and the decisions they make, because I know what a difficult job it is and difficult decisions have to be made.”

But, he said, the precedent at the company is that “news and current affairs employees are expected to be impartial and not everyone else.”

Reporter Joe Middleton has more:

Former BBC director-general Greg Dyke has criticized the decision to ax Gary Lineker.

Dyke says the BBC “undermined its own credibility” by pulling Lineker from hosting Match of the Day.

“I think what the BBC did yesterday was wrong,” Dyke told the Today Program on BBC Radio Four.

“Over the years I have never publicly criticized the leadership of the BBC, because I know what a difficult job it is.

“If you thought in Match of the Day tonight that he was talking about immigration policy, then I can understand the BBC’s position.

“But if he’s talking about football that’s what he knows, that’s what he’s qualified to talk about and it doesn’t, I don’t think, breach the impartiality of the BBC.”

There was also concern among some Premier League clubs about whether their managers and players appearing in Match of the Day would amount to almost a “political act”.

Match of the Day commentators went on strike late on Friday night, potentially leaving the country’s top program with no commentary, analysis or interviews.

A joint statement from the team, which includes regular commentators such as Steve Wilson and Conor McNamara, said it “would not be appropriate to take part in the programme”.

You can read the latest from Miguel Delaney, here:

Match of the Day faces a blackout of players and coaches, as well as pundits, commentators and presenters, according to By the Independent chief football writer Miguel Delaney.

Several Premier League clubs have major concerns about allowing their employers to speak in the program and many players want to show solidarity with former professionals such as Gary Lineker, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.

Fines could be imposed for failure to fulfill broadcasting duties, but the Professional Footballers’ Association is understood to support any such attitude by its members.

The BBC and the presenters had planned to continue the match day as normal until midday on Friday, before the broadcaster tried to persuade Gary Lineker to agree to a solution which was deemed unacceptable by the top presenter. It left the company scrambling to find a replacement team late on Friday night after being rejected by a number of industry figures.

The independent It has been said that the BBC hierarchy, above BBC Sport, wanted Lineker to agree to a public statement that would essentially amount to an apology and an expression that he would be more careful on social media, sources close to the situation said . he was rightly seen as the “self-deprecating” presenter.

Match of The Day commentators have joined a boycott of the BBC show after the broadcaster announced it would go on air on Saturday without presenters or pundits over Gary Lineker’s removal from the show.

In a joint statement shared online, the commentators said: “As commentators on MOTD, we have decided to withdraw from tomorrow night’s broadcast.”

“We are comforted that football fans who want to follow their teams should be able to do so as the management can use the World Feed feedback if they wish.

“However, under the circumstances, we do not believe it would be appropriate to participate in the scheme.”