One week after the BBC’s schedule of sport was severely disrupted with a boycott by staff in support of anchorman Gary Lineker, both the host and fellow pundits were all back on screen this weekend.
18.03.2023 - 21:23 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Gary Lineker admitted he was 'glad to be back' on the BBC to present Manchester City''s FA Cup tie against Burnley, after controversially being told to step back from presenting Match of the Day last weekend.
Lineker was told to take a step away from presenting the Saturday night highlights show after a row regarding the broadcaster's impartiality rules. The former England and Leicester City man came under fire for comparing the language used by the government in their asylum plans to 'that used by Germany in the 30s' in a tweet last Tuesday.
However the BBC faced widespread criticism for their decision to take Lineker off air, with news of his absence followed by a mass boycott from pundits - including Shearer, Micah Richards and Alex Scott - commentators and radio broadcasters across the BBC's football coverage.
ALSO READ: City vs Burnley FA Cup updates
Match of the Day aired without presenters, pundits, commentators of post-match interviews, brief highlights of each game being accompanied by crowd noise. The full show lasted just 20 minutes.
By the start of this week, a decision was made to reinstate Lineker and apologise for the fallout, and in his first live appearance since, the presented said he was 'glad to be back', before Shearer apologised.
"It’s good [to be here]," Shearer told BBC. "I just wanted to clear up and wanted to say how upset we were about all the audiences that missed out last weekend.
"It was a really difficult situation for everyone concerned and through no fault of their own, some really great people in TV and in radio were put in an impossible situation, that wasn’t fair.
"It’s good to get back to some sort of normality and be talking about football again."
Lineker then simply said:
One week after the BBC’s schedule of sport was severely disrupted with a boycott by staff in support of anchorman Gary Lineker, both the host and fellow pundits were all back on screen this weekend.
Gary Lineker has explained why he didn't present Match of the Day on Saturday night, despite being back on BBC screens following the controversy that saw him temporarily step back from his role.
Gary Lineker agreed it was "good to be back" on the BBC to present Manchester City's FA Cup tie against Burnley on Match of the Day Live after stepping back from presenting last weekend in a controversial row over broadcaster's impartiality rules. The former England and Leicester City footballer came under fire for comparing the language used by the government in their asylum plans to 'that used by Germany in the 30s' in a tweet.
Gary Lineker has shared a picture of himself in a BBC studio ahead of returning to present live coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley.The presenter, 62, was taken off air last week by the corporation for a tweet comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum seeker policy with 1930s Germany in a row over impartiality. Taking to Twitter on Saturday (18 March), the broadcaster shared a photo of himself at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley.
Gary Lineker will return to our TV screens later following a row which left the BBC's sport coverage in disarray. The former England international had to 'step back' from off his Match of the Day presenting duties after taking to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.
Manchester City's big matches just keep on coming as the Blues welcome Vincent Kompany's Burnley to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Brix Smith has spoken to NME about her debut solo album ‘Valley Of The Dolls’, as well as the darker sides of Manchester and California and watching Gary Linekar soil himself on-pitch.Recorded alongside producer Youth, the album is a brittle yet melodic punk assault which the former member of The Fall described as “an absolutely cracking album where every song was a breath of honesty, and a mixture of light and truly filthy darkness”“It’s the best thing I’ve done since The Fall,” she told NME. “I can die happy now”.The record is the first to bear Smith’s solo name after many years of working with bands including The Adult Net and The Extricated.
Twitter's head Elon Musk has been called out by the son of Leicestershire-star Gary Lineker following his father's public fallout with the BBC as trolls have hurled abuse his way online. Gary hit out at the billionaire and chief executive officer on Twitter, including him in a post that shows his son George being told that he should be "burned at the stake" for his public support of his father. It comes after the former footballer was reinstated as host of Match Of The Day (MOTD) on Monday (March 13).
Gary Lineker’s son has spoken out after facing relentless abuse on Twitter following his father’s public fallout with BBC over small boat tweets. George Lineker shared a screenshot of someone telling him he should be “burned at the stake” for supporting his dad when the Match of the Day (MOTD) presenter was briefly suspended from the BBC. Commenting on the abuse, George wrote: “Social media’s mad isn’t it.
will return to his Match of the Day presenting duties after the BBC apologised for suspending him in an impartiality row that has rocked the corporation. Lineker got to keep his job but made no apology for his tweet comparing the language used to launch a small boats asylum policy with that used in 1930s Germany – and tweeted again about the plight of refugees within minutes of being reinstated.
Gary Lineker is set to return to BBC Match of the Day this weekend following a row over impartiality.
Emily in Paris actor Lucien Laviscount didn't hold back on the Oscars carpet as he made his feelings about the Conservative government clear amid the ongoing Twitter row with Gary Lineker. The 30 year old actor shouted "f**k the Tories" and appeared to make a rude hand gesture when approached by GMB's North American correspondent Noel Phillips for his opinion on the matter.
Self Esteem showed her support for Gary Lineker last night (March 11) by wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words “Free Gary” at her Eventim Apollo show in London.The singer-songwriter – real name is Rebecca Lucy Taylor – shared on Twitter an image of herself sporting the tee at the show, writing “Solidarity” and tagging the BBC Sport presenter.She has followed in the footsteps of Fatboy Slim, who on Friday (March 10) displayed Lineker’s face on a video screen behind him. The move was met by huge cheers from fans who were watching the DJ perform in Manchester.It comes amid a row between the BBC and Lineker after the latter on Tuesday (March 7) called the government’s controversial plan to ban people arriving in the UK illegally from ever claiming asylum an “immeasurably cruel”.
Gary Lineker. The corporation on Friday said it had “decided” the former England star would take a break from presenting the highlights programme until an “agreed and clear position” on his use of social media had been reached. The 62 year old became embroiled in a row over impartiality after using Twitter to compare the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with 1930s Germany.
One of the main talking points in the world of football this weekend was the news that Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker had been stood down from his duties for the BBC for tweeting his opinion of a controversial government policy.
Naman Ramachandran BBC director general Tim Davie has apologized over the ongoing fracas around star soccer player turned sports pundit Gary Lineker, but will not resign. Last Tuesday, Lineker, commenting on the U.K. government’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill, tweeted, describing it as an “immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.” Lineker is a star presenter on the BBC’s “Match of the Day” soccer program. Lineker’s tweet raised government hackles and on Friday, the BBC suspended him, saying: “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.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken out after Gary Lineker was dropped from his role on Match of the Day. The row broke out earlier this week after the former England striker took to social media to hit out at Government plans to stop small boats making the journey to Britain.
Piers Morgan has blasted the BBC's decision to pull Gary Lineker off Match of The Day. The corporation said the presenter's criticism of the government's Migration Bill was a "breach of our guidelines". The sports pundit will now be stepping back from his presenting duties until a "clear position" on his social media use is agreed upon.
Celebrities and cultural figures including a Nobel literature laureate and comedian have voiced their thoughts on the BBC’s impartiality row involving Gary Lineker.The corporation on Friday said it had “decided” the former England star would take a break from presenting the highlights programme until an “agreed and clear position” on his use of social media had been reached.The 62 year old became embroiled in a row over impartiality after using Twitter to compare the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with 1930s Germany. Many have used the hashtags #StandWithGary, #IStandWithGaryLineker OR #IStandWithGary to voice their support for Lineker.
The BBC has issued an update after its sporting schedule was thrown into disarray this weekend. Presenters, commentators, and pundits, pulled out of various shows in solidarity with Gary Lineker 'stepping away' from Match of the Day in a row over impartiality.