Decision to take Gary Lineker off Match of the Day was mistaken, says ex-BBC boss

Greg Dyke, former director general of the BBC, has criticised the broadcaster’s decision to temporarily remove Gary Lineker as presenter of Match of the Day. Lineker was asked to step down after he tweeted that the language used to set out the government’s asylum policy was similar to that used in Nazi Germany. The broadcaster said it had been “in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines”. Dyke, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said: “I think what the BBC did yesterday was mistaken”. Dyke added that the precedent at the corporation is that “news and current affairs employees are expected to be impartial and not the rest”.
The row has led to chaos on the show, with fellow presenters Ian Wright and Alan Shearer refusing to appear on the broadcast, and several commentators sharing a statement announcing they will be stepping down from Saturday’s coverage of the Premier League. Shearer and Wright said they did not think it was “appropriate” to appear on the show. Both Dyke and a number of BBC colleagues have come out in support of Lineker’s right to give his opinion, citing the importance of freedom of speech. Dyke said that applying impartiality rules for journalists to everyone employed by the BBC would be problematic. Lineker, who has been a presenter on Match of the Day since 1999, responded to criticism of his tweet on Friday, expressing surprise that it had caused offence. He added that his tweet was not sent in his role as BBC presenter, but simply as a member of the public expressing an opinion.



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