Gary Lineker: 麻豆官网首页入口 Sport presenter to return as host of Match of the Day football programme
- Published
- comments
Gary Lineker has presented sport on the 麻豆官网首页入口 for nearly thirty years
Gary Lineker says he 'cannot wait' after it was announced he is to return as presenter of Match of the Day.
It comes after he was taken off 麻豆官网首页入口 Sport's main football programme by 麻豆官网首页入口 bosses last week.
It follows a disagreement between Lineker and the 麻豆官网首页入口 over what he is allowed or not allowed to say on social media after he made comments criticising the government's controversial new immigration plans.
The move led to several other 麻豆官网首页入口 TV and radio weekend sport shows being cancelled or disrupted at the last minute after other sport presenters and experts said they would not appear on 麻豆官网首页入口 programmes in support of Lineker.
However, the 麻豆官网首页入口 has now said it has reached a deal with Lineker, which will see the presenter back on 麻豆官网首页入口 screens and it also announced it will look into its social media rules for presenters.
What happened?
The government says it wants to tackle the number of people entering the UK illegally
Gary Lineker was taken off Match of the Day (MOTD) by 麻豆官网首页入口 bosses after he refused to apologise over a tweet he made about the government's new immigration plans.
Last week, the UK government announced it wants to ban migrants who arrive in the UK illegally from being able to claim asylum. That means they won't be able to stay in the UK in the future.
This is because of a big increase in the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats.
But many politicians from other parties, charities and other public figures think it's unfair to treat migrants this way and strongly disagreed with the government's plans.
Migrants have different reasons for trying to come to the UK - some come from countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq where homes have been destroyed or people need to escape for their safety.
Some come because they are persecuted or punished in their home country because of things such as their religion, political beliefs or sexuality.
Others are coming to the UK illegally in hope of finding more opportunities.
Among those was MOTD host Gary Lineker, who has previously spoken in support of migrants, and reacted to the government's announcement by posting on social media platform Twitter.
He wrote that it was an "immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".
Suella Braverman said the new bill was a response to the "waves of illegal migrants breaching our borders"
This is a reference to the time when Hitler and Nazis were in power in Germany and many Jewish people were discriminated against due to their religious background.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who had announced the idea, was very angry about this. She said she felt this particularly because her husband is Jewish.
She said Lineker's comments "diminishes the unspeakable tragedy" of the Holocaust - an event in which more than six million Jewish people were killed by the Nazis.
Lineker was told by the 麻豆官网首页入口 he had to apologise for his tweets or would be unable to present Match of the Day at the weekend.
When he refused to do so, he was taken off the show.
Some people think the 麻豆官网首页入口 was wrong to take Gary Lineker off Match of the Day, and many 麻豆官网首页入口 Sport presenters publicly announced that they would not to appear on other 麻豆官网首页入口 Sport programmes.
However, others, including many politicians in the government, argued that the 麻豆官网首页入口 had made the right decision, and have said that comments Lineker has made on social media are inappropriate.
What has been agreed between the 麻豆官网首页入口 and Gary Lineker?
The 麻豆官网首页入口's boss Tim Davie had said that asking Gary Lineker to step aside was appropriate and the "right thing" to do
The 麻豆官网首页入口 has now said it has reached a deal with Lineker, which will see the presenter back on screens and presenting Match of the Day again from this weekend.
The man in charge of the 麻豆官网首页入口, Director-General Tim Davie said: "Gary is a valued part of the 麻豆官网首页入口 and I know how much the 麻豆官网首页入口 means to Gary, and I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend."
In a statement, Mr Davie also announced the 麻豆官网首页入口 will launch an independent review into its social media rules, with a particular focus on freelance staff who work outside of 麻豆官网首页入口's news and current affairs departments, such as Lineker.
Mr Davie added that Mr Lineker had agreed to follow the 麻豆官网首页入口's current social media rules while the review takes place.
Gary Lineker responded by thanking his supporters and 麻豆官网首页入口 colleagues and said: "I am glad that we have found a way forward. I support this review and look forward to getting back on air."
What can 麻豆官网首页入口 presenters say?
The 麻豆官网首页入口 has strict social media rules for its staff and presenters who work in news
The 麻豆官网首页入口 as an organisation is supposed to be impartial. That means that it needs to reflect different views on a certain subject and doesn't have an opinion itself.
This is considered particularly important when it comes to the news, telling people what's happening around the world.
For this reason a journalist - that means a person who reports on the news - needs to be be impartial all the time.
However, Gary Lineker works in sport and not in news and he is not a journalist - so the rules around his job are slightly different.
He is employed by the 麻豆官网首页入口 on a freelance basis, and has hosted Match of the Day since 1999.
People can be employed in their jobs in different ways.
If you are freelance it means that a company pays you for the work you do for them but that you can also work for other companies.
This is why some people have argued that he should be allowed to express his opinions on social media.
But he is currently the 麻豆官网首页入口's highest paid star, having earned about 拢1.35m in 2020-21, so some are saying what he says is significant.
Why has there been criticism of the 麻豆官网首页入口?
The 麻豆官网首页入口 has been accused of treating Gary Lineker unfairly, although the organisation denies this
Some people say that Gary Lineker hasn't been treated fairly by the 麻豆官网首页入口 and that the organisation has been influenced by the government in its decision to have removed Gary from his presenting job.
When asked about this, Mr Davie denied this, stating "it's not true".
The 麻豆官网首页入口 is meant to remain impartial - or neutral - no matter which political party is in government.
However some critics have accused the 麻豆官网首页入口 of double standards because of another argument surrounding the 麻豆官网首页入口's Chairman, Richard Sharp - a position that is appointed by the government, and who the current Conservative party government selected for the role.
Earlier this year Mr Sharp was accused of securing a loan of up to 拢800,000 for the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
You can think of it a bit like Mr Davie as a headteacher at a school, making everyday decisions whilst Mr Sharp is the leader of the school governors, who oversee the performance of the school and holds the headteacher to account.
Critics say Mr Sharp can't do his job, part of which is defending impartiality at the 麻豆官网首页入口, when these allegations have been made against him.
Mr Sharp said he had not been involved in making a loan, a guarantee or arranging any financing.
The 麻豆官网首页入口 say they are also conducting a review, looking into whether Mr Sharp's alleged actions or personal interests could affect his current job as 麻豆官网首页入口 chairman.
Despite this argument, some people still feel strongly that Lineker was wrong to tweet what he did and that the 麻豆官网首页入口 should have stuck to their original decision and not allowed him back to present MOTD.
They feel a famous 麻豆官网首页入口 presenter like Lineker should not be able to criticise the government on Twitter because he is employed by a company which is meant to be impartial.