The BBC has determined that Gary Lineker’s tweet regarding the Conservative Party violated its impartiality policies.
An article regarding then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss proposing a boycott of the Champions League final in Russia was posted by the Match of the Day host in February.
And her party would return their funds from Russian benefactors, he continued.
Lineker’s piece “did not meet the BBC’s editorial standards on impartiality,” according to a complaint that the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) upheld.
The former England striker chose not to offer any commentary on the choice.
Gary Lineker, according to the ECU, is “one of the BBC’s highest profile personalities” and, although he is not expected to uphold the same high standards of impartiality as the broadcaster’s journalists, his prominence does give him “extra responsibility.”
The judgment stated, “We expect these individuals to refrain from taking sides on party political issues or political conflicts and to use caution when addressing public policy matters.”
It stated that Lineker had brought up the fact that the tweet was inspired by a sports-related article—his core area of expertise—and the board had agreed that it was meant to be a comment on football rather than politics.
Managers at BBC Sport also noted that he had written his tweet as a question rather than as a statement of opinion on a touchy political issue.
The ECU found, however, that the purpose of the post was to draw attention to “a perceived discrepancy in the Conservative Party’s attitude, at a time when ties between the UK and Russia were the subject of substantial public debate.”
Before Uefa, the governing body of European football moved the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris as a result of Lineker’s remark, Russia had just started its invasion of Ukraine.
The ECU said that managers from BBC Sport and Lineker had spoken with them about their decision.
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