Television viewers in England may have seen the strangest broadcast of Match of the Day on Saturday. Due to the riot around presenter Gary Lineker and its consequences, the BBC broadcast an extremely bare-bones version of the program under the name ‘Premier League highlights’.
Lineker was not allowed to present the program by the BBC. The reason is a tweet from the former professor, who compared the language used by the British government on asylum policy with that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The BBC called the 62-year-old presenter to the mat. Only when Lineker and the BBC have agreed on his social media use will he return to TV.
Subsequently, analysts and some commentators decided not to participate in the program in solidarity with Lineker.
The English players’ union showed solidarity with Gary Lineker on Saturday. Now that the former international has been told by the BBC. That he will not be allowed to present the Match of the Day program on Saturday.
The reason is a tweet from Lineker, who compared the language used by the British government on asylum policy with that used by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The BBC called the 62-year-old presenter to the mat and instructed him to step back on Friday because his recent social media use violates the guidelines of the British broadcaster. It should stay away from political issues. Only when Lineker and the BBC have agreed on his social media use will he return to TV.
On Thursday, Lineker still assumed that he would just present Match of the Day on Saturday. And thanked everyone for the massive support.
The aftermath
As a result, Match of the Day will be broadcast on Saturday without a presenter and analysts. Big names such as Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Jermaine Jenas, Micah Richards and Alex Scott have already shown solidarity with Lineker, deeming it inappropriate to take a seat in the studio as long as the BBC does not allow him to. Some commentators have also announced via Twitter that they are boycotting the program. The matches will be commented on in a different way.
The players of the Premier League clubs have also become involved in the whole Match of the Day affair. Players’ union PFA announced on Saturday that there was a need for a collective position among members, because they wanted to express their support for Lineker. The outcome of the talks is that Premier League players and managers will not give interviews to Match of the Day on Saturday, so as not to put players in an awkward position with a broadcaster.
As a result, there was actually no Match of the Day on Saturday. The BBC did not start a tune of the program. But only showed ‘Premier League highlights’ with the match that followed the summary. The duels were then broadcast without commentary and without interviews with those involved.
