Gary Lineker news: Match of the Day star says ‘great to be here’ as he returns to BBC

Lineker returns to hosting duties for Manchester City vs Burnley in the FA Cup

Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer return to television after BBC row

Gary Lineker said it was “great to be here” as he returned to the BBC after he was forced off-air last week in a scandal over his comparison of the government to the Nazis over its use of language regarding asylum seekers.

The Match of the Day star returned to the screen to present live coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley this evening, having been suspended last week over his comments.

As the pre-match coverage began, Mr Lineker’s co-presenter Alan Shearer addressed the row, saying “how upset we were about all the audiences who missed out” after Match of the Day went ahead with no presenters.

He went on: “It was a really difficult situation for everyone concerned. Through no fault of their own some really great people in TV and radio were put in impossible situations and that wasn’t fair.

“It’s good to get back to normality and talk about football again.”

Mr Linker said: “I echo those sentiments.”

Key Points

• ‘Great to be here’: Lineker back on BBC
• ‘Totally disproportionate’: Lineker discusses small boats row
• Who is presenting Match of the Day tonight?

[17 March 2023 09:12 · Andy Gregory]

Faith in BBC director general ‘at all time low’, claims union

Faith in BBC director-general Tim Davie is at an “all-time low” after the suspension and reinstatement of presenter Gary Lineker, a Union of Journalists official has said.

BBC programming was hit by strikes earlier this week, in which around 1,000 journalists were forecast to take part.

Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell – who was among those on a picket line outside Broadcasting House on Wednesday – said that BBC journalists had been “forced to strike” by proposed cuts to local radio.

[17 March 2023 09:04 · Andy Gregory]

Next BBC chair should not be ‘political appointment’, says ex-head of news

Roger Mosey, a former head of BBC television news and director of sport, has said the next BBC chair should not be a “political appointment” – claiming it would be a “great act of statesmanship” for Rishi Sunak to de-politicise the appointment.

It comes amid debate about the position of BBC chair Richard Sharp, who is subject to an ongoing review after it emerged he helped former prime minister Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility.

Speaking on Roger Bolton’s Beeb Watch podcast, Mr Mosey said it would be “an enormous gain” to have the future chairman be “someone who is not seen as being in a pocket of one party or another”.

Questions about Mr Sharp's position as BBC chairman have mounted following the recent impartiality row over tweets sent by Gary Lineker comparing the government’s language around asylum to that of Germany in the 1930s.

[17 March 2023 09:01 · Andy Gregory]

Gary Lineker had a ‘special arrangement’ with the BBC to tweet about refugees, says agent

Gary Lineker believed he had a “special arrangement” with the BBC allowing him to make comments about refugees and the small boats crisis, his agent has claimed.

Jon Holmes represents the football presenter, described the row as descending into “shambles” despite efforts to have “everyone calm down.”

He has claimed that his client believed he had an understanding with Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, that he could make public statements on certain issues.

My colleague Thomas Kingsley has the full report:

[17 March 2023 09:00 · Andy Gregory]

Gary Lineker criticises Tory MP for ‘outrageous’ Nazi claim comments

Gary Lineker has hit back at a Conservative MP who falsely suggested that the BBC presenter had called so-called “red wall” voters in the north and Midlands “Nazis” and “racist bigots”, our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports.

Jonathan Gullis, Tory MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, said Rishi Sunak’s planned small boats crackdown had “upset all the right people in the right places”.

Reacting to a clip of the interview, Twitter user Simon Harris said: “I don’t think Gary Lineker has actually directly called red wall voters ‘Nazis’ Mr Gullis.”

Lineker then replied himself, tweeting: “No he hasn’t and never would. This is outrageous and dangerously provocative.”

[17 March 2023 08:58 · Andy Gregory]

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage, as Gary Lineker is set to return to present the first Match of the Day since he was reinstated by BBC bosses.

[17 March 2023 05:15 · Jane Dalton]

Opinion: Should celebrities ever hold their bosses to ransom?

Celebrities can be “too big to fail”, and broadcasters can be too reliant on them to sometimes do the right thing, writes Sean O’Grady: