The BBC has reinstated host of the show Match of the Day, Gary Lineker, after the network faced faced mounting controversy over its suspension of the sports presenter. Source: Liton Ali/Wikimedia.
Gary Lineker, host of the BBC’s Match of the Day has been reinstated in his hosting role after the network became the centre of controversy and criticism regarding his suspension.
Lineker is a former football striker for England andMatch of the Day is one of the BBC’s longest running shows, first airing in 1964, earning it the Guinness World Record for the longest running TV football program.
Lineker’s suspension came after he made global headlines criticising the British Tory government’s new asylum seeker policy on Twitter.
Comparisons between the British governments new policy and the Australian government’s stance on asylum seekers has also been drawn, including both using the tagline ‘Stop the Boats’.
Lineker first retweeted a video of UK’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman pitching the ‘stop the boats’ policy, with Lineker describing it as “beyond awful”.
Good heavens, this is beyond awful. https://t.co/f0fTgWXBwp
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) March 7, 2023
Lineker than later followed with further criticism in which he compared the language used in the UK government’s policy as similar to Nazi-era Germany.
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, and I’m out of order?
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) March 7, 2023
In a statement released late last week, the BBC described Lineker’s comments as a “breach of our guidelines”, and that he had been asked to step back from hosting Match of the Day.
According to BBC’s guidelines, presenters with a “significant public profile” are responsible for avoiding taking sides on political controversies or party political issues. This includes for freelancers, of which Lineker is employed as.
In a show of solidarity, several people with roles of the program, including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, withdrew from the show.
Other contributors who are continuing with the show were also publicly vocal about their discomfort working without Lineker.
Ultimately, the past weekend’s show was replaced with a highlight reel of the previous week’s football matches.
The public outrage stems from those defending Linker’s right to free speech, while others argue that he wouldn’t have been suspended had he been criticising UK’s opposition or supporting conservative policy.
Sky News commentator Kaveh Solhekol accused the BBC of hypocrisy as several of the network’s figures have donated to, or have links with, the conservative side of British politics
“So why is all this allowed?” Solhekol questioned on Sky.
“Yet Gary Lineker is not allowed to make a fairly innocuous comment, which many, many people would agree with, about a policy that has been condemned by the United Nations and also by many human rights groups.”
Braverman responded to Lineker’s tweets during an ITV interview. She described his comparison to 1930s Germany as “irresponsible”
“Equating our measures — which are lawful, necessary and fundamentally compassionate — to 1930s Germany is irresponsible and I disagree with that characterisation,” said Braverman during the interview.
Alongside the reinstatement of Lineker, BBC director-general Tim Davie announced an independent expert review into BBC’s current social media guidelines, focusing primarily on how it applies to freelancers outside of news and current affairs.
“The BBC has a commitment to impartiality in its charter and a commitment to freedom of expression,” said Davie.
“That is a difficult balancing act to get right where people are subject to different contracts and on-air positions, and with different audience and social media profiles. The BBC’s social media guidance is designed to help manage these sometimes difficult challenges and I am aware there is a need to ensure that the guidance is up to this task.
“It should be clear, proportionate, and appropriate.”
