Gary Lineker has returned to anchoring BBC football coverage for the first time since last week’s impartiality controversy, stating that he is “delighted to be back.”
Alan Shearer, in welcoming Lineker back, stated that the situation had been “very unpleasant for all parties involved.”
“It’s nice to return to some semblance of normalcy,” he continued.
Following a tweet critical of the government’s asylum policy, Lineker was removed from the airwaves.
After many of Lineker’s BBC Sports colleagues, including Shearer, walked out in “solidarity” on Saturday, Match of the Day was shown without presenters or commentary and was only 20 minutes in length.
The BBC announced on Monday that it will initiate an independent review of its social media policy, especially for freelancers such as Lineker, 62, but he might return in the interim.
Saturday before the beginning of the BBC’s live broadcast of Manchester City vs. Burnley in the FA Cup, Shearer stated: “I just wanted to clear the air and express our regret to the viewers who missed out last weekend.
“That was a really terrible situation for everyone involved, and some of the most talented people in television and radio were placed in an impossible position through no fault of their own.
“It was not just. So it’s nice to return to some semblance of normalcy and discuss football once more.”
Gary Lineker added,
“I completely concur with your comments.”
Match of the Day on Saturday “was always” supposed to be hosted by broadcaster Mark Chapman, according to Lineker’s tweets.
“For anyone who missed it and is wondering, I hosted this evening’s live FA Cup game on Match of the Day,” he said.
Previously, he posted a photo of himself on set at the Etihad Stadium with the caption,
“Oh, the joys of being permitted to focus on football.”
In another tweet, he tweeted a photo of pundits and former England footballers Shearer and Micah Richards and referred to them as “teammates.”
In a statement released last week, the BBC acknowledged that it had asked Lineker to step down from his Broadcast duties after he referred to the asylum policy as “an immensely cruel strategy geared against the most vulnerable people in terminology not close to that employed by Germany in the 1930s.”
His agent, Jon Holmes, said that the former England striker believed he had the authority to speak on such topics.
Jon Holmes stated in the New Statesman,
“Gary has a strong interest in refugees and immigration and, as he saw it, had a particular agreement with Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, to tweet about these topics.”
Mr. Davie has pledged to examine how the corporation’s impartiality requirements apply to freelance employees, recognizing that there are “gray” situations.
He apologized for what he said had been “a tough era” for employees, presenters, and listeners, and he defined the BBC’s commitment to freedom of expression and impartiality as a “challenging balancing act.”
He also claimed that his agreement to reinstate the host was a “back down,” telling BBC News,
“I’ve always stated we must take reasonable action.”
After the publication of the official BBC statement, Lineker tweeted:
“I have been presenting sports on the BBC for nearly three decades and am tremendously happy to work for the world’s finest and most impartial broadcaster. I cannot wait until Saturday to return to the MOTD chair.”
Also Read: M. Shadows Married His Wife After A 6th-Grade Romance
