After ex-footballer Gary Lineker was suspended from hosting the British football show “Match of the Day” in a dispute over a tweet critical of the government, more and more BBC colleagues and footballers are showing solidarity with the 62-year-old. The English professional footballers’ union PFA said on Saturday it supports players who do not want to be interviewed for the show. “We would support any member who might face consequences for choosing not to meet their TV commitments,” the PFA said in a statement. According to the announcement, there should be no Match of the Day interviews with Premier League players on Saturday.
The BBC announced on Friday that Lineker would not be hosting the show on Saturday. The former England international hadn’t wanted to apologize for a tweet, in which he accused the government of using Nazi language in connection with refugees. The BBC saw this as a violation of its policy on the independence of its employees.
Shortly after the suspension became known, experts and ex-footballers Ian Wright and Alan Shearer also announced that they did not want to appear on the show. Other football pundits and BBC staff joined in. According to the BBC, “Match of the Day” is to be broadcast as a match day summary without moderation and comments. However, other BBC football programs have had to be canceled due to staff boycotts.
Meanwhile, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn has also shown his solidarity with Lineker. Corbyn said Lineker has the perfect right to speak his mind. Even the BBC’s code of conduct allows critical opinions to be expressed – provided it does not pertain to the employee’s area of work. Corbyn criticized that public attention had shifted away from asylum policy towards Lineker and the BBC.
Conservatives reacted with outrage to Lineker’s statement
Lineker, who has presented the BBC show “Match of the Day” since 2009, tweeted that the language used by the conservative government to promote its controversial asylum legislation was “not dissimilar to Germany in the 1930s”. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Interior Minister Suella Braverman reacted with outrage. Several Conservative MPs called on the BBC to part ways with Lineker.
The British government wants to first hold migrants who enter the country without official permission in shelters and then expel them to Rwanda or other countries. The right to apply for asylum should be taken away from them. The plans could violate the European Convention on Human Rights. Interior Minister Braverman had spoken of an “invasion” in view of the increasing number of people who came into the country unwanted via the English Channel.
Critics accuse her and other members of the government of fueling hatred against foreigners with their language. The BBC is committed to strict neutrality. Lineker, who has around 8.6 million followers on Twitter, has repeatedly criticized the Conservative government. The ex-forward is the highest-paid BBC presenter with a base salary of £1.35m (€1.51m).