What did Gary Lineker say as he’s asked to ‘step back’ from Match Of The Day?
Gary Lineker has presented Match of the Day (MOTD) since 1999 – but he’s swapping the host’s seat for the hot seat this week.
The pundit and former pro football player has been asked to step down from presenting duties after remarks made on his social media aimed at the Conservative government and the Illegal Migration Bill.
After Gary’s social media comments, the BBC said in a statement they have ‘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 suspension will remain in place until an agreement is reached on his social media use.
What did Gary say and what’s happened since the BBC made their position clear?
What did Gary Lineker say on Twitter which has led to the MOTD fallout?
Gary took to his social media to fiercely oppose the Illegal Migration Bill introduced by Suella Braverman and the Conservatives.
The bill, which introduces new laws such as arresting those who enter the UK illegally immediately and banning them from claiming asylum, was met with widespread opposition.
Many pointed out that the laws seems to be incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights.
Gary tweeted on March 7: ‘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?’
He also called it ‘beyond awful.’
It was his tweet comparing the government’s language to that of Germany in the 1930s – aka the Nazi Party – which seems to have stirred up the most controversy.
After weathering debate and headlines, Gary took to Twitter again on March 8 to write: ‘I have never known such love and support in my life than I’m getting this morning (England World Cup goals aside, possibly). I want to thank each and every one of you. It means a lot. I’ll continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice. Cheers all.’
When it first appeared that the BBC wouldn’t interfere, Gary tweeted on March 9 that he’d be presenting MOTD as usual.
He wrote: ‘Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days. Happy that this ridiculously out of proportion story seems to be abating and very much looking forward to presenting @BBCMOTD on Saturday. Thanks again for all your incredible support. It’s been overwhelming.’
However, on Friday, March 10, the BBC released their statement indicating that Gary would step down while they investigated.
The statement in full read: ‘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.’
‘When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is 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, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.’
Who has come out in support of Gary Lineker?
After the BBC confirmed that Gary wouldn’t host MOTD, there was a quick response from his fellow commentators and pundits.
Ian Wright, the former Arsenal legend and MOTD staple, was first to tweet. He wrote: ‘Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.’
He was joined by former Newcastle star, Alan Shearer, who said: ‘I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.’
Other presenters and sports personalities who have ruled themselves out from presenting include:
- Micah Richards
- Jermaine Jenas
- Alex Scott (who pulled out of Football Focus)
- Match of the Day’s lead commentator, Steve Wilson
- Mark Chapman from Radio 5 Live.
Gary has also had support from Piers Morgan and Dan Walker, who would fill in for Lineker on MOTD before he moved from the BBC to Channel 5, who tweeted: ‘It’ll be very interesting to see how the editors, directors and producers all react to the decision.’
Gary Neville, who hosts ITV’s football coverage, supported Ian Wright’s decision to boycott, writing: ‘I had no doubt Ian Wright would do that! Who the hell is going to go on now!’
It’s also been reported that, as the show airs without any presenters, Premier League players and managers won’t have to give interviews to be used in the show.
MORE : Why did Gary Lineker’s comments ruffle more feathers than the actual small boats policy?
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