The BBC announced on Monday the return to the air of Gary Lineker, one of the group’s most famous presenters, whose suspension on Friday after a tweet against the government sparked a wave of protests. “Gary is an important part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to him, and I look forward to him presenting our show next weekend,” said BBC Director-General Tim Davie in a press release.
Gary Lineker, 62, presenter of hugely popular football show ‘Match of The Day’, was sacked after criticizing on Twitter a Tory government bill aimed at preventing migrants arriving through the English Channel from applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, a project decried even at the UN. He had denounced “a cruel policy aimed at the most vulnerable, in a language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s”.
Solidarity and #BoycottBBC
These remarks were strongly criticized by the government and the conservative newspapers. The audiovisual group, which has made impartiality a “priority”, decided on Friday “that (Gary Lineker) was going to withdraw from presenting Match Of The Day until we have a clear agreement with him on its use. social networks”.
But this suspension caused an outcry. She led to the upheaval of BBC sports programming on television and radio. Several football broadcast consultants, such as former glories Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, have decided to withdraw from their programs in “solidarity”. The hashtag #BoycottBBC has become trending on Twitter.
New policy on the use of networks?
Tim Davie has apologized and announced an investigation by an independent expert into social media guidelines, including how the rules apply to non-news presenters. For his part, Gary Lineker said he was “happy” that a solution had been found. “I support this investigation and look forward to returning to the air,” he added.
On Twitter, where he is followed by nearly 9 million people, he thanked the people who supported him during “these surreal days”. “I have presented sport on the BBC for almost thirty years and I am extremely proud to work with the best and fairest media in the world,” he added.
He allowed himself “one last thought”: “As difficult as the last few days have been, it is simply not comparable to having to flee your home to escape persecution or war and seek refuge. in a distant country “.