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?

[18 March 2023 01:50 · Jane Dalton]

Presenter also earns from film and podcast company

Gary Lineker tops up £1.35m BBC salary with more licence fee money, The Telegraph has reported.

It says he and other BBC broadcasters have worked on podcasts or television programmes made by Lineker’s Goalhanger film and podcast companies.

A BBC spokesman told the paper: “Gary is a freelance presenter and his BBC pay for that role is published annually, under transparency obligations in the BBC Charter.

“This is entirely separate to any programmes the BBC commissions from Goalhanger Productions, an independent production company.”

[18 March 2023 00:10 · Jane Dalton]

What are BBC guidelines on impartiality?

What the BBC guidelines state and how they apply to Lineker:

[17 March 2023 22:55 · Jane Dalton]

Presenter backs UK trophy-hunt crackdown

Gary Lineker was among celebrities who supported a UK ban on imports of hunting trophies.

[17 March 2023 21:55 · Jane Dalton]

The tweets that started it all

The debacle began when Lineker tweeted the government’s small boats approach was “an immeasurably cruel policy”:

[17 March 2023 19:34 · Jane Dalton]

‘Totally disproportionate’: Gary Lineker’s first TV appearance since BBC suspension

Football presenter Gary Lineker has condemned the row over his suspension by the BBC because of his tweets as “totally disproportionate”:

[17 March 2023 15:15 · Andy Gregory]

What can we expect from a BBC social media review after the Lineker row?

The director-general at the BBC, Tim Davie, has announced a review into social media guidelines as he recognised “the potential confusion caused by the grey areas” of the guidance, following the recent impartiality row over a tweet by Gary Lineker.

Ahead of the recently announced review, we look at what we know so far and how the review may be conducted based on the 2020 update.

[17 March 2023 12:44 · Andy Gregory]

Watch: Keir Starmer tells Rishi Sunak to 'stand up to snowflake MPs' over Gary Lineker BBC row

[17 March 2023 11:54 · Andy Gregory]

Ian Wright says ‘heads have got to roll’ after BBC management caused ‘hot mess’ over Gary Lineker row

Ian Wright has said “heads have got to roll” after managers at the BBC caused a “hot mess” at the weekend by asking Gary Lineker to step away from Match Of The Day.

During the beginning of the podcast Wrighty’s House, the 59-year-old said the row had been a “perfect distraction from what really matters”.

He added: “For me, they made a hot mess. I’m telling you, this is all from high up, I can’t blame my man (the head of BBC TV Sport) Philip Bernie, the BBC Sports team. All of this is over a tweet.”

Charlotte McLaughlin has the full report:

[17 March 2023 10:47 · Richard Wheeler]

Stand up to snowflake MPs after Gary Lineker row, Starmer tells Sunak

Rishi Sunak must “stand up to his snowflake MPs waging war on free speech” following the Gary Lineker row, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Labour leader sought assurances that Conservative MPs or others connected to the party did not lobby the BBC to “effectively cancel” Match of the Day last weekend.

[17 March 2023 09:54 · Andy Gregory]

Match of the Day theme tune drowns out BBC interview outside parliament after Gary Lineker row

The Match of the Day theme tune interrupted a BBC News interview outside parliament earlier this week.

As Tory MP Harriett Baldwin spoke about the Budget, she was drowned out by the iconic music from the famous football highlights programme.

It was blasted out around Westminster following the controversy surrounding the BBC and presenter Gary Lineker, who was told to step aside from last weekend’s Match of the Day after tweeting criticism about the government’s asylum policy.

My colleague Oliver Browning has more details: