Gary Lineker – latest: BBC talks with presenter ‘moving in right direction’ as disruption continues
According to BBC News, there are hopes a resolution will be reached soon but not all issues are ‘fully resolved’
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Talks between BBC and Gary Lineker are believed to be “moving in the right direction” after a second day of disruption to the corporation’s sports programming.
There is “growing confidence” that the former England player will return to host the popular BBC show, according to reports,
According to BBC News, there are hopes a resolution will be reached soon but not all issues are “fully resolved.”
The Women’s Super League Chelsea v Manchester United game on BBC Two kicked off with no pre-match presentation and no pundits tonight.
BBC Radio 5 Live’s football phone-in programme 606 will also not air again tonight, according to Sky News.
Mr Lineker, who has hosted Match of the Day for almost a quarter of a century, has been embroiled in a row over impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new government asylum policy with 1930s Germany.
BBC boss should use Match of the Day’s 20-minute silence to consider if row could have been handled any worse
Gary Lineker: How much is the Match of the Day presenter paid?
How the Gary Lineker and Match of the Day chaos unfolded - and the repercussions for the BBC
Gary Lineker: History of Match of the Day host’s political tweets
Former BBC TV and radio presenter Roger Bolton said the BBC's plan for a review into its social media guidance “in itself resolves nothing.”
Following the confirmation Gary Lineker will return to his regular presenting duties on Match Of The Day, Mr Bolton, who hosts Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch podcast, said: “The review is necessary but its independence depends on who conducts it. Will it simply analyse the problem or give recommendations?
“Is the BBC committed to accept any recommendations? It seems not.
“The report will be given to the BBC Board to decide what further should be done. It is chaired by someone, Richard Sharp, who is not seen as impartial by many people and who has been missing in action over the last crucial days.
“And has Gary Lineker agreed not to tweet on controversial issues while the review takes place? This is an important and necessary holding operation but in itself resolves nothing.”
BBC director general Tim Davie said there have been “no easy answers” and he did the “right thing” after the corporation asked Gary Lineker to step away from Match Of The Day.
Davie told BBC News: “I've always said we need to take proportionate action, and for some people...we've taken too severe action, others think we're being too lenient.
“There's never been an easy solution but asking Gary to step back off air, I think, was a significant thing and now we look forward with this agreement, moving forward to resolve things and get back to business as usual.”
On whether he had reached an agreement on social media with Lineker after the presenter was announced to be coming back on air, Davie said the presenter will “abide by the editorial guidelines” until a review has taken place.
He added: “I think it was a very big moment in terms of us saying we have to take stock here, we have to take action, we did take action which we thought was proportionate and as the BBC we did the right thing, I did the right thing.”
Lineker will abide by social media guidelines while review is under way
Tim Davie said Mr Lineker had agreed to abide by the BBC's social media guidelines while a review is under way.
Given the consensus that those guidelines contain significant grey areas, it is unclear exactly what this will mean in practice - and, as mentioned a little earlier, it is being reported that he will be allowed to continue tweeting without restrictions.
In a statement earlier, the BBC confirmed it would launch an independent review of its guidance.
Suspension does not compare to plight of refugees, Lineker says
With a final thought on his standing down from Match of the Day, Gary Lineker said his suspension does not compare to the hardship refugees face.
He said: “A final thought: however difficult the last few days have been, it simply doesn’t compare to having to flee your home from persecution or war to seek refuge in a land far away. It’s heartwarming to have seen the empathy towards their plight from so many of you.”
Gary Lineker confirms he will return to Match of the Day on Saturday
In a continuation of his Twitter thread, Gary Lineker confirmed he will return to hosting on Saturday 18 March.
He wrote: “I have been presenting sport on the BBC for almost 3 decades and am immeasurably proud to work with the best and fairest broadcaster in the world. I cannot wait to get back in the MOTD chair on Saturday.”
Gary Lineker breaks silence after suspension
Writing on his Twitter for the first time since his suspension, Gary Linker thanked his supporters and colleagues at the BBC.
He wrote: “After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming.”
BBC confirm return of Gary Lineker and review into social media guidelines
The BBC has released a statement confirming news that Gary Lineker will return to hosting at the broadcaster.
Director general Tim Davie says: “Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend.”
In a statement, Mr Davie also announces the BBC will launch an independent review into its social media guidelines, with a particular focus on freelancers outside news and current affairs like Lineker.
Gary Lineker says in the statement: “I am glad that we have found a way forward. I support this review and look forward to getting back on air.”
Lineker will be allowed to tweet ‘with no restrictions’ as part of agreement with BBC, according to reports
According to the i newspaper, the terms of the deal mean Gary Lineker will be allowed to continue tweeting about politics with “no restrictions”.
If confirmed, this would represent a major climbdown from BBC leadership, following an outpouring of strong criticism over their actions since last week as well as boycotting from the biggest stars in their sports coverage.
BREAKING: Gary Lineker set to return to BBC after tweets row
Gary Lineker is to return to presenting sport on the BBC after he was taken off air over his tweets criticising the government's migration policy, according to reports.
Sky News has reported that the corporation will apologise to the Match Of The Day presenter.
BBC in a ‘muddle’ over impartiality, former director of news claims
James Harding, co-founder of Tortoise Media and former director of news at the BBC, said the corporation has got into a “muddle” over the issue of impartiality as he warned that the broadcaster cannot police the opinion of every contributor.
His comment came amid hopes of a resolution in the row with Gary Lineker.
“I think it's part of a bigger muddle on impartiality,” he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that the situation is “completely different” for staff outside news and current affairs.
“Why do we care about impartiality? We care about making sure that a publicly funded broadcaster that delivers news and information that informs the country is impartial, but people can make up their own minds on political issues.
“But you can't get to a world in which the BBC is policing the opinions of every writer, director, musician, sports personality, scientist, business entrepreneur.
“Not only can you not actually do it, but the principle is wrong.
“The principle is wrong because it will actually deter people from joining the BBC, it will diminish the BBC.
“But, even more importantly, there are freedom of speech principles here. Those people have lives beyond the BBC and should be able to give voice to what they say.”
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