BBC Reaches Deal With Gary Lineker Over Social Media Use

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.

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Gary Lineker has questioned Twitter owner Elon Musk after a threatening message was sent to his son in the wake of the sports presenter’s row with the BBC. The former footballer, who was reinstated as host of Match Of The Day (MOTD) on Monday, re-shared a private message which said his eldest son, George, should to be “burned at the stake” for his public support of his father. Lineker and other employees of the BBC have received abuse online following the ex-England striker’s brief suspension as host of MOTD at the weekend.

UPDATE: BBC employees will stage their biggest strike in 13 years on Wednesday after eleventh-hour talks with management failed. The walkout will force coverage of the UK government’s Budget off air and heap more embarrassment on Director-General Tim Davie, who has apologized for scheduling chaos over the Gary Lineker saga.

Senior BBC management has been accused of fostering a “toxic culture” from the “DG-down” in a letter criticizing the closure of its 99-year-old choir.

“Ambiguity” around social media guidelines was to blame for the BBC Gary Lineker scandal, according to Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes, who was challenged on the “creeping politicization” of UK TV news during a committee hearing this morning.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has scrambled to avoid further disruption to its schedules after a walkout over Gary Lineker’s suspension canceled Premier League output.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC failed to fully heed advice in 2020 that could have helped the broadcaster avoid a weekend of carnage over a single tweet from Gary Lineker, its highest-paid presenter.

This Morning viewers were hilariously left baffled by Mike Tindall and James Haskell's appearance on the show as they were put on the spot by Phillip Schofield. The former rugby stars appeared live on the ITV daytime show to chat with the presenter and his co-host Holly Willoughby about their upcoming podcast tour.

Gary Lineker will be returning to the BBC after it was announced the host would "step back" from hosting the weekly football highlights programme, Match of the Day. BBC Director-General Tim Davie has apologised after Gary, 62, was told to step back from presenting Match Of The Day in a row over impartiality and said he will return to hosting coverage this weekend.

Gary Lineker is set to return to BBC Match of the Day this weekend following a row over impartiality.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Football commentator Gary Lineker is set to return to hosting duties on the BBC this weekend after being pulled off air due to comments about the U.K.’s refugee policy that were deemed to have breached the broadcaster’s impartiality policy. In a statement on Monday morning, the BBC revealed that it will conduct a review of its social media guidance “with a particular focus on how it applies to freelancers outside news and current affairs,” which is the category for star talent such as Lineker. The “Match of the Day” host said in a comment: “I am glad that we have found a way forward. I support this review and look forward to getting back on air.”

Gary Lineker looks in line for a return to BBC TV as talks with the company over his suspension are "inching closer" to an agreement.

The UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has found his meeting with French premier Emmanuel Macron this weekend totally overshadowed in the British media. On Saturday evening, Sunak’s office released a statement from the PM, saying: 

The BBC has recently descended into chaos after Gary Lineker was forced to step back from hosting Match of the Day following a row over impartiality. The footballer-turned-pundit, 62, was accused of breaching the BBC's impartiality rules after he posted a tweet comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with that of 1930s Germany.

An unprecedented Match of the Day without presenters, pundits or commentators was watched by 500,000 more people last night than the previous week.

Chris Sutton hopes the BBC find a resolution to the “messy” situation after the Match of the Day mutiny that also had an impact on his 606 radio phone-in alongside Robbie Savage.

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.”

BBC Director General Tim Davie has apologized to audiences for the disruption caused to the organization’s sports programming but said he won’t resign following the unprecedented talent walkout over the Gary Lineker row.

The BBC comms department must be reeling this morning after a nightmare 48 hours which saw it firefighting battles on several fronts.