BBC reinstates star presenter Gary Lineker after outcry over suspension

The sanction only lasted a weekend. The BBC announced on Monday March 13 the return to the air of ex-footballer Gary Lineker, one of the group’s most famous presenters. The figure from the hugely popular ‘Match of The Day’ show had been suspended after a tweet criticizing a Tory government bill to prevent migrants arriving through the English Channel from seeking asylum in the UK, a maligned plan to the UN.

>> United Kingdom: we tell you about the turmoil caused by the suspension of BBC presenter Gary Lineker

“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”BBC director-general Tim Davie said in a statement.

Gary Lineker 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”. Remarks which were strongly criticized by the government and the conservative newspapers. The audiovisual group, which established impartiality as a “priority”decided on Friday “that [Gary Lineker] was going to step back from presenting ‘Match Of The Day’ until we had a clear agreement with him on his use of social media.”.

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 England internationals Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, have decided to withdraw from their programs by “solidarity”. On Twitter, the hashtag #BoycottBBC has become trending on Twitter.

The presenter evokes the last “surreal days”

On Twitter, where he is followed by nearly 9 million people, Gary Lineker thanked the people who supported him during “those 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 also allowed himself “one last thought” : “As difficult as the last few days may have been, it just doesn’t compare to having to flee your home to escape persecution or war and seek refuge in a distant land.”

For his part, the director of the public broadcasting giant announced an investigation by an independent expert into the guidelines for the use of social networks, and in particular on how the rules apply to presenters not working on the news.