Former England captain Gary Lineker was temporarily removed on Friday from his role as presenter of the BBC바카라s flagship football highlights show in the wake of his criticism of the British government바카라s new asylum policy.
The long-running 바카라Match of the Day바카라 program, which has been a national institution in Britain since the 1960s, will be aired on Saturday 바카라without studio presentation or punditry,바카라 the BBC said in an extraordinary development after a slew of Lineker바카라s colleagues announced they wouldn바카라t appear on the show without him.
In a post on Tuesday on his Twitter account that has 8.7 million followers, Lineker 바카라 one of England바카라s greatest football players and now among the U.K.바카라s most influential media figures 바카라 compared lawmakers바카라 language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.
The BBC considers Lineker posting such views on social media as a breach of its guidelines. The network said it held discussions with Lineker over his involvement in 바카라Match of the Day,바카라 which is broadcast on Saturday nights and shows highlights of English Premier League games that day.
바카라The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting 바카라Match of the Day,바카라바카라 the broadcaster said, 바카라until we바카라ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.
바카라We have never said that Gary should be an opinion-free zone, or that he can바카라t 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.바카라
Lineker has yet to make an official comment, though one of his former colleagues on the BBC 바카라 Dan Walker 바카라 said he had been in contact with Lineker and asked him 바카라whether he is stepping back or whether the BBC have told him to step back.바카라
Walker said Gary Lineker replied to him that the BBC 바카라told me I have to step back.바카라
바카라So Gary Lineker wants to continue to present 바카라Match Of The Day바카라 and is not apologizing for what he has said,바카라 Walker said on Channel 5, where he works, 바카라but he has said it바카라s a BBC decision to force him to not present the program at the moment.바카라
In solidarity with Lineker, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright 바카라 former England players who work as pundits on 바카라Match of the Day바카라 바카라 said on Twitter they would not be appearing on the program this weekend.
After more of his BBC co-workers, like former football players Alex Scott, Jermaine Jenas and Micah Richards, said they would not want to work on 바카라Match of the Day바카라 because of the treatment of Lineker, the BBC took the decision to change the format of the show.
바카라Some of our pundits have said that they don바카라t wish to appear on the program while we seek to resolve the situation with Gary,바카라 the BBC said.
바카라We understand their position and we have decided that the program will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry.바카라
Conservative lawmakers in Britain have called on the BBC to discipline Lineker, the network바카라s highest-paid star on 1.35 million pounds ($1.6 million) last year, for saying the government바카라s plan to detain and deport migrants arriving by boat is 바카라an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.바카라
The government has called Gary Lineker바카라s Nazi comparison inappropriate and unacceptable, and some lawmakers said he should be fired.
The 62-year-old Lineker was a household name in Britain well before he became a smooth, knowledgeable presenter of sports shows on the BBC and other broadcasters. He was the leading scorer at the 1986 World Cup and finished his international career with 48 goals in 80 matches for England.
His club career included spells with Barcelona, Tottenham, Everton and Leicester.
The BBC, which is funded by a license fee paid by all households with a television, has a duty to be impartial and news staff are barred from expressing political opinions. As a freelancer who doesn바카라t work in news or current affairs, Lineker isn바카라t bound by the same rules and he often delves into politics and human rights issues with his tweets.
The BBC바카라s neutrality has come under recent scrutiny over revelations that its chairman, Richard Sharp 바카라 a Conservative Party donor 바카라 helped arrange a loan for then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021, weeks before he was appointed to the BBC post on the government바카라s recommendation.
