CANCELLED ON FRIDAY, BACK BY MONDAY

On 7 March 2023, Gary Lineker criticised the Government’s new asylum policy on Twitter. He described the policy as immeasurably cruel and compared the language used to promote it with that used in Germany during the 1930s.

The comments provoked an immediate political and media argument. Conservative MPs demanded action, while others defended Lineker’s right to express a personal opinion. Lineker was a freelance sports presenter rather than a BBC news journalist, but he was also the corporation’s highest-paid presenter and the face of Match of the Day.

On Friday 10 March, the BBC announced that Lineker would “step back” from presenting until it had reached an agreed position with him over his use of social media. The corporation said his posts breached its guidelines.

The sanction rapidly became larger than the original tweet.

Ian Wright and Alan Shearer withdrew from that weekend’s Match of the Day in solidarity. Commentators followed them. Other presenters refused to host BBC sports programmes, and players and managers were not asked to provide interviews.

That Saturday, Match of the Day was reduced to twenty minutes of match footage without its presenter, pundits, commentary or interviews. Other scheduled sports coverage was severely disrupted.

No law had been broken. There had been no formal disciplinary hearing, and the rules governing the personal social-media activity of freelance presenters remained unclear. The BBC had imposed a public sanction before resolving how its own policy applied.

On Monday morning, the decision was reversed.

Director-General Tim Davie apologised for the disruption, acknowledged the “grey areas” in the BBC’s guidance and announced an independent review. Lineker was reinstated and returned to broadcasting the following weekend.

The dispute did not establish that Lineker’s original comparison was beyond criticism. Nor did his reinstatement eliminate the BBC’s obligation to maintain impartiality.

It established something narrower. The corporation had removed its leading sports presenter under rules it then admitted required clarification. When colleagues refused to participate and programmes began collapsing, the suspension lasted three days.

Lineker was cancelled on Friday. By Monday, the institution that removed him was reviewing itself instead.

SOURCES