The withdrawal of the BBC of its star presenter Gary Lineker this Saturday unleashed strong criticism of the British audiovisual group and the support of many commentators and political personalities for the former soccer player sanctioned for a tweet in which he criticized the government.
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“Lineker riot”, “BBC mutiny”, “Beebs going too far”… The announcement this Friday night of the temporary suspension of Gary Lineker, ex-footballer and presenter of the very popular Match Of The Day broadcast , aroused such protest, that far outshone Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to Paris on the front pages of British newspapers the day before.
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The former England team striker, who has presented the soccer broadcast since 1999, was suspended by the British audiovisual giant after criticizing on Tuesday the new Conservative government bill that seeks to prevent migrants arriving via the Canal de la Mancha ask for asylum in the United Kingdom, a project denounced even in the UN.
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It is a “cruel policy towards the most vulnerable, in terms not dissimilar to those used by Germany in the 1930s,” he wrote on Twitter, where the 62-year-old former soccer player regularly shares his progressive views with his 8, 8 million subscribers.
His words sparked a lively controversy in a very tense context regarding immigration issues, but also recurring criticism of impartiality against the public audiovisual giant by the British right.
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wave of support
The BBC had first stated that it was going to speak to the presenter. On Friday, the audiovisual group finally decided “that (Gary Lineker) was going to stop presenting Match Of The Day until we reach a clear agreement with him about his use of social networks.”
The reactions did not wait: six commentators announced their withdrawal taking these “circumstances” into account, as well as broadcast consultants such as former English international soccer players Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.
“Everyone knows what Match Of The Day means to me, but I have warned the BBC that I will not be on the broadcast tomorrow,” Ian Wright said on Friday. “Solidarity,” he added.
An online petition for support surpassed 135,000 signatures on Saturday morning and the hashtag #BoycottBBC is trending on Twitter.
On the political side, the audiovisual group’s decision was denounced by many personalities, from the Labor opposition to Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who described the BBC’s position as “indefensible”, which, according to her, endangers freedom of expression in the face of political pressure”.
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According to The Daily Express newspaper on Saturday, a group of 36 British Conservative MPs would have written a letter to the group’s CEO, Tim Davie, to apologize “without reservations” on the part of the presenter.
“The BBC has cast doubt on its own credibility by appearing to bow down to government pressure,” said former BBC director-general Greg Dyke.
Impartiality
The BBC has been regularly criticized of late, with accusations of having skewed coverage of Brexit and focused on the concerns of urban elites.
The group has since claimed to place impartiality as a “priority” and, on government advice, Richard Sharp was appointed in 2021 as BBC chairman.
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But this nomination was the subject of criticism as the former banker, a well-known donor to the Conservative party, reportedly helped former Prime Minister Boris Johnson obtain a loan of 800,000 pounds (900,000 euros, $960,000) before his nomination.
Gary Lineker, 48 goals for England until his retirement in 1994, did not publicly react to his suspension, but he repeated this week that he fully assumed his words.
Nicknamed “Mister Nice” for his irreproachable behavior throughout his career (he never received a yellow card), he has a habit of expressing his political positions on social media, in particular against Brexit and defending emigrants.
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The new bill, which, according to the government, seeks to put an end to the arrival of emigrants through the English Channel, was criticized by associations for the defense of human rights and by the UN, which accused London of wanting to “put end to the right of asylum”.
AFP
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