The `’s sports service was in a meltdown on Saturday after pundits and commentators refused to work in support of presenter Gary Lineker, who was forced to “resign” after accusing the government of using Nazi-era rhetoric.
Match of the Day presenter Lineker, England’s fourth top goalscorer, sparked an impartiality dispute by criticizing the UK government’s new policy to tackle illegal immigration.
The 62-year-old compared the language used to introduce the new policy to that of Nazi Germany on Twitter, in what the ` on Friday called “a breach of our guidelines”.
“The ` has decided that he will step down from presenting Match of the Day until we have an agreed and clear position on his use of social media,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
However, the decision decimated planned sports programming on the `’s TV and radio edition.
Pundits and former England strikers Ian Wright and Alan Shearer immediately tweeted that they would not be taking on their usual roles on the match of the day, followed by the show’s commentators.
Wright then said on his podcast on Saturday that he would leave the ` if Lineker were finally fired.
The ` announced that the highlights show, which has been running on Saturday nights since 1964 and is the longest-running football television program in the world, will be broadcast for the first time without a pundit or presenter.
It also said players would not be asked for interviews after some indicated they would not be available to support Lineker.
Weekend preview show Football Focus and results program Final Score were also pulled from the schedule due to presenter and pundits being absent.
Saturday sport schedules for ` Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also been changed.
“We apologize for these changes, which we recognize will be disappointing for ` sports fans,” the broadcaster said.
“We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.”
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) described the crackdown on Lineker as a “massive ` own goal”.
The story goes on
NUJ Secretary-General Michelle Stanistreet added: “Giving in to sustained political pressure in this way is as foolish as it is dangerous.”
Lineker is a freelance broadcaster for the `, not a permanent staff, and is not responsible for news or political content and is therefore not required to abide by the same strict rules of impartiality.
The former Leicester striker was present at the King Power to watch his hometown club lose 3-1 to Chelsea but did not speak to reporters.
Some Leicester fans showed their support for Lineker with placards reading: “I’m with Gary, migrants welcome.”
– “Incredibly Cruel” –
The row was sparked by Lineker’s reaction to a video in which Home Secretary Suella Braverman revealed plans to stop migrants from crossing the Channel on small boats.
Lineker, the `’s highest-paid star, wrote on Twitter: “This is just an immensely cruel policy aimed at the most vulnerable, in language not unlike that of Germany in the 1930s.”
The conservative government intends to ban asylum applications from all illegal arrivals and move them to other countries such as Rwanda to halt crossings, which totaled more than 45,000 last year.
A YouGov poll released Monday found 50 percent support the measures, while 36 percent oppose it.
But human rights groups and the United Nations said the legislation would make Britain an international outlaw under European and UN asylum conventions.
Some 36 Tory lawmakers have sent a letter to the ` warning that the affair “will undoubtedly shake many people’s already tenuous confidence in the company’s impartiality”.
The `’s move sparked a wave of criticism from politicians and public figures, many of whom accused it of giving in to Conservative lawmakers’ demands.
Opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer said the ` “made that mistake and now they are very, very exposed” while a petition calling for Lineker’s reinstatement has garnered nearly 180,000 signatures.
– impartiality debate –
Former ` chief executive Greg Dyke said the broadcaster made a mistake.
“The real problem today is that the ` has undermined its own credibility by doing this,” he told the broadcaster, adding it could give the impression that the “` has bowed to government pressure”.
The issue has brought to a head years of debate about the `’s impartiality, which intensified after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
The Lineker dispute has reached a particularly heated stage after allegations were made that ` chairman Richard Sharp provided former Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a loan guarantee on his candidacy.
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