Gary Lineker breaks silence on BBC controversy as Alan Shearer pulls out of Match of the Day appearance

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Gary Lineker has broken his silence on the decision for him to be taken off Match of the Day presenting duties - saying that the decision was the BBC's and not his.A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed on Friday that Lineker would not be presenting the football highlights show until an agreement has been made regarding "his future use of social media", following remarks he made about UK immigration.Fellow pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright have since both confirmed that they will not be appearing on the show this Saturday in support of their colleague.

Veteran presenter Lineker described the UK Government's new Migration Bill as "beyond awful" when it was unveiled by Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Tuesday.Lineker later added: "This is just 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 told Channel 5 in an interview relating to him not presenting the show on an interim basis: "They've told me I have to step back", reports the Mirror.On Friday, a BBC spokesperson said: "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."Lineker , who