LONDON:
Of the BBC’s The sports service was weakened on Saturday when analysts and commentators refused to work in support of the broadcaster Gary Lineker, who was forced to “go back” after accusing the government of using the words Nazi style.
Match of the Day presenter Lineker, England’s fourth all-time leading goalscorer, has sparked controversy by criticizing the British government’s new approach to football. which is illegal immigration.
The 62-year-old compared the language used to promote the new system to Nazi-era Germany on Twitter, which the BBC said on Friday was a “breach of our guidelines”.
“The BBC has decided that it will withdraw from presenting Match of the Day until we have an agreed and clear position on its use of social media,” the broadcaster said in a statement. information.
Lineker is an independent broadcaster for the BBC, not a permanent member of staff, and is not responsible for news or political content that does not need to comply with anti-bias laws. equal to neutral.
Pundits and former England captains Ian Wright and Alan Shearer quickly tweeted that they too would not be attending, followed by the programme’s reporters.
Wright then said on his podcast on Saturday that he would leave the BBC if Lineker was sacked for good.
The BBC announced that the landmark show, a Saturday night fixture since 1964 and the world’s longest-running football television programme, will be broadcast without a pundit. or a first-time speaker.
He also said players would not be asked for interviews after some indicated they would not be available to support Lineker.
Adding to the chaos, sports pundits and pundits pulled out of several BBC radio and television shows on Saturday, forcing the cancellation and broadcasting of repeats and podcasts instead of broadcast. directly.
The controversy was caused by Lineker’s response to a video in which Home Secretary Suella Braverman revealed plans to stop migrants on small boats.
Lineker, the BBC’s highest-paid star, wrote on Twitter: “An immeasurably cruel policy aimed at the most vulnerable people in a language unlike that used by Germany in the 30s.”
The Conservative government intends to legalize the asylum applications of all illegal arrivals and send them elsewhere, such as Rwanda, in an attempt to stop the crossing, which totaling over 45,000 last year.
A YouGov poll published on Monday showed 50 percent supported the measures, with 36 percent opposed.
But rights groups and the United Nations said the law would make Britain an international lawmaker under European and UN treaties on asylum.
Some 36 Tory lawmakers have sent a letter to the BBC warning the case will “undoubtedly shake the confidence of many people” in the impartiality of the BBC.
They are asking the BBC, which collects a license from households with television, for a full apology from Lineker.
The BBC’s move sparked widespread criticism from politicians and the public, many of whom were accused of resisting demands from Conservative lawmakers.
Sports journalist, Natalie Pirks, posted a photo of a George Orwell statue outside the BBC building in a free speech, but a petition calling for Lineker’s reinstatement attracted the almost 160,000 signatures.
Former BBC director-general Greg Dyke said the broadcaster had made a mistake.
“The real problem today is that the BBC has undermined its own credibility by doing this,” he said in the announcement, adding that it could create the impression that “the BBC has bowed to the power of the government”.
The issue sparked years of debate on the BBC’s neutrality, which escalated after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
Brexit supporters said the company was biased against them, while the left-wing party said it allowed speakers to make defamatory comments against former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn with impunity.
The Lineker row comes at a heated time after it emerged that BBC chairman Richard Sharp allegedly arranged a loan for former prime minister Boris Johnson while applying for the job.
BBC director-general Tim Davie warned staff about their use of social media when he took over the role at the end of 2020.
Lineker, a former Barcelona, Tottenham and Everton player, hosted refugees in his home and was the first to voice his criticism of the government’s handling of immigration.
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