NEWS STORY : BBC Suspend Gary Lineker for Political Comments
STORY
The BBC have suspended Gary Lineker following comments he made in support of asylum seekers earlier in the week which were critical of the Government. The BBC stated:
“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”.
The BBC, which is battling allegations that its chair Richard Sharp failed to declare his political favours to the Conservative Party, said that the situation would be clarified in the near future. Ian Wright, a co-presenter on Match of the Day with Gary Lineker, posted on Twitter:
“Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity”.
A new presenter for the programme has yet to be confirmed by the BBC.
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