Gary Lineker ‘regrets’ fallout with BBC over social media comments

Gary Lineker has said he regrets the fallout between himself and the BBC after a row over impartiality and said the support he received from colleagues left him in tears. The Match of the Day host, 63, was pulled off the air by the corporation after he compared the language used to launch a government policy on asylum seekers to 1930s Germany.

Benching Lineker sparked a backlash and led to a number of his fellow pundits, including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, boycotting the football highlights programme. Lineker later returned to the show, but the BBC’s new social media rules have since banned the iconic presenters from attacking political parties.

Speaking at the Hay Festival in Powys, the former England international said he was overwhelmed by the support he received from the likes of Shearer and Wright. Lineker said: “I think it’s a great shame what happened because it threw me quite a bit against the BBC. I like the BBC.

“The Daily Mail has a raison d’être and they wanted a story on the BBC. I think the BBC needs to stop worrying so much about the Daily Mail and what people who love the BBC care about.

“I think it all happened because of the front page published by the Daily Mail after I replied to someone, which I thought nothing of.”

He said he turned off his phone after making the comment and went to bed, only to wake up the next morning to hundreds of messages about the front-page story.

“It was the front page of the Daily Mail compared to the Nazis… it was completely out of context of what I said. It was a misrepresentation,” Lineker said. “It started to grow a bit and I remember having a group chat with Alan Shearer and Ian Wright and I said I have a feeling they’re going to take me out of Match of the Day this week.

“Wrighty immediately said there was no way he could do the show.”

After the BBC announced the decision, Wright and Shearer withdrew from the show, as did several commentators and reporters.

“It was amazing… I was in the back of a taxi when it happened, when Alan Shearer pulled out and I started crying,” said Lineker, who has hosted the program for 25 years. “The only thing I regret was that it was a fallout between me and the BBC, it should have been a fallout between the BBC and the Daily Mail.”

Introducing Lineker, historian David Olusoga said he would quiz the former Leicester, Everton, Tottenham and Barcelona striker on a range of non-football issues such as his television career and political views.

“He’s usually told to stick to football,” Lineker joked in response. He also defended the right of current sports stars such as Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling to speak out about issues important to them, such as child poverty and racism.

“It’s just a line of attack if I don’t agree with you,” Lineker said. “They’re perfectly happy for free speech and free speech for athletes or free speech for musicians as long as they agree.

“The moment I disagree with what you’re saying, stay in your lane. I would defend anyone’s right to have an opinion. You can (have an opinion) if you agree with them.

“The moment someone disagrees with your side of things – which they’re perfectly entitled to, but they don’t have the right to say you’re not allowed – you can disagree with that, and I think that’s important and have a debate, but to close. someone down…

“Why can’t a footballer have a sight but a plumber or an electrician can? And therefore why should a politician ever have a view on football?”

Laughing, Lineker said: “I saw Rishi Sunak kicking it the other day… maybe I shouldn’t.”

Lineker also defended his comments on social media, saying he was not trying to influence people but was “looking in the mirror”. But he told the audience that he “detests” the so-called culture wars.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “What I don’t like is getting people to dislike each other. We should always be the same and I think we need some kindness back rather than attacking people.

“I think it’s really sad because I don’t think we’re that kind of people. You may have disagreements, but that doesn’t mean you hate them. I think it’s unacceptable and disappointing to bring a zone between people.”