A scandal is brewing around one of the most famous figures in British football, Gary Lineker. The former attacker recently likened the British government’s asylum communication to a message from the Nazis, and in response the BBC removed him from the head of the Match of the Day programme. His colleagues and the former head of Britain’s public service tax have also spoken out against the decision.
Gary Lineker has hosted the BBC’s most important football program since 1999, making him the Match of the Day record holder. In addition, it calculates the channel highest paid Also upfront, he earned £1.35m in 2021, though that included performances related to the European Football Championship.
Thus, the three-time top scorer is a very well-known media personality in the UK, who has been known for some time to have no sympathy for the Tory government. That’s why the BBC had already warned him, but now the cup is full.
It is beyond terrible
Lineker was first shared on Twitter by Home Secretary Suella Braverman your video With the comment beyond terrible, he then wrote in another tweet:
“There is no mass emigration. We accept much fewer refugees than other European countries. This is just a very harsh political decision addressed to the most defenseless, with language not unlike what was used in Germany in the 1930s.”
On Tuesday, the British government presented a draft to tighten immigration law, which has cut off security for many people. If the motion passes, all illegal immigrants will be automatically deported from the country. Lineker criticized this stance, as well as the way the Home Secretary, who has Indian parents, spoke about immigrants.
The day after his ill-fated tweet, Lineker already wrote that perhaps he had only received so much support in his life as now, when he scored goals for England at the World Cup:
However, the BBC management did not take positively the fact that one of the faces of the company compared the current British government to the Nazis. The announcer was removed from the screen, citing Lineker’s breach of BBC staff policy. This doesn’t mean he’s going to be fired yet, it’s just that he can’t host a show until they reach an agreement with him about how he uses his online platforms.
The BBC could have scored an own goal
The decision caused a huge backlash in the UK, with much of the comment directed against the BBC. Former Head of British Public Media, Greg Dyke He saidthat by suspending Lineker, the BBC had undermined its credibility.
The specialist at a public media broadcaster explained that it had been clear for a long time that the same rules of impartiality as political journalists did not apply to those working on entertainment or football programmes. Dyck said the decision appears to have succumbed to the BBC’s pressure from the government.
Others have come to similar conclusions, noting that many other BBC broadcasters have not been convicted for siding with the government. Richard Osman, known for his literacy exams, called Lineker a pathetic witch, as you can read in the embedded tweet above.
Lineker’s immediate colleagues, the permanent experts on today’s match, stood by him. Ian Wright and Alan Shearer will not be on the show on Saturday in protest of the presenter’s removal.
