BBC reverses Gary Lineker’s suspension for post on Twitter

Gary Lineker’s comments comparing the Tory government’s stance on a proposed asylum legislation to 1930’s Germany led to his suspension from the BBC’s “Match of the Day” and subsequent boycotts from his fellow colleagues.

By: AP
London | Updated: March 13, 2023 04:01 PM IST

2 min read

Gary Lineker. (File)

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Gary Lineker will return to airwaves after the BBC reversed the former soccer great’s suspension on Monday for a post on Twitter that had criticized the British government’s new asylum policy.“Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend,” BBC director general Tim Davie said.

Britain’s national broadcaster was forced to scrap much of its weekend sports programming after commentators, analysts and Premier League players refused to appear as a show of support of Lineker.

Also Read | In suspending Gary Lineker over a tweet, BBC betrays an analogue attitude in a digital age

Lineker, one of English soccer’s most lauded players and the corporation’s highest-paid television presenter, was suspended Friday after he compared the Conservative government’s language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany. The BBC said the tweet breached its impartiality rules, but critics accused it of suppressing free speech.

Davie said there would be an independent review of the BBC’s social media rules to address the “gray areas” in the guidelines.

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