Gary Lineker makes sly dig at BBC as he returns to TV for first time since migrant tweet row

0

GARY Lineker has made a sly dig at the BBC as he returns to TV screens after the migrant tweet row.

The presenter of Match of the Day, 62, took to his Twitter page earlier this afternoon to post a message to his followers which said: “Ah the joys of being allowed to stick to football.”

TwitterGary Lineker took to his Twitter page earlier this afternoon[/caption]

BBCLineker hosted the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup[/caption]

The BBC’s highest-paid presenter, on £1.35million a year, is returning to TV after being suspended from his Match of the Day presenting duties following criticism of Suella Braverman’s migrant boats plan.

The former Barcelona striker previously took to Twitter to hit out at the Illegal Migration Bill, which bans people who arrive on small boats from settling in Britain.

He wrote: “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?”

The bill will see migrants detained and removed to their home country, or a safe third state within 28 days.

Today saw the arrival of the Home Secretary in Rwanda, to meet with President Paul Kagame and her counterpart Vincent Biruta, to discuss the plan.

Lineker’s words were considered in breach of the BBC’s strict impartiality rules which state that staff must avoid taking sides on political controversies.

In a statement, the BBC previously said it had “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.”

Lineker’s co-hosts on the show, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer also stepped back from the show in support if their colleague.

Ultimately Lineker’s return was announced as he agreed to abide by existing guidelines and welcomed a new independent review into BBC stars’ use of social media.

“I am glad we have found a way forward. I support this review and look forward to getting back on air”, he said.

Since the controversy exploded, the BBC have also come under fire for their handling of the situation.

Guest posting agency=

BBC director-general Tim Davie, who made the call to suspend Lineker, faced an embarrassing climbdown just 72 hours later when he reversed the decision.

Mr Davie said in a statement the corporation has commissioned an independent review of its social media guidelines and apologised for the impartiality row.

He described the BBC’s commitment to freedom of expression and impartiality as a “difficult balancing act”.

“The potential confusion caused by the grey areas of the BBC’s social media guidance that was introduced in 2020 is recognised. I want to get matters resolved and our sport content back on air”, he added.

Lineker was back in front of the cameras for the corporation fronting tonight’s programme at 5.30pm, for the Beeb’s FA Cup coverage, telling viewers how thrilled he was to be back at his “Saturday job”.

HIs co-host and former teammate Alan Shearer also expressed how “upset” he was to have missed out on the show last week.

He said: “I want to say how upset we were that all the audiences missed out on last weekend.

“It was a really difficult situation for all concerned.

“For no fault of their own some great people in TV and radio were put in an impossible situation.

“It’s good to get back  to some sort of normality and talk about football.”

Guest posting agency=

Lineker responded: “I echo those sentiments.”

BBCLineker said he was thrilled to be back at his ‘Saturday job’[/caption]

PAGary Lineker, centre, arrives at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester to present live coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley[/caption]

Leave a Reply

RSS
Follow by Email
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Share
WhatsApp