Ex-England soccer captain banned from BBC after comparing UK government to Nazis
Former England soccer captain Gary Lineker has been taken off the air by the BBC after criticizing the British government’s new asylum policy in a Twitter post, comparing lawmakers’ language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.
“Lineker will not present ’Match of the Day’ until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media,” the BBC said in a statement on Friday.
The statement came after the former captain tweeted that the UK government’s plan to detain and deport migrants is “an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.”
The BBC claims that posting such views on social media is a breach of its guidelines, discussing with Lineker over his involvement in the Match of the Day program, which is broadcast on Saturday nights, presenting highlights of English Premier League games.
The UK government has called Lineker’s Nazi comparison inappropriate and unacceptable, calling on the BBC to discipline him.
Meanwhile, Ian Wright, a former Arsenal and England player who works as a pundit on ‘Match of the Day,’ backed Lineker up on the issue and said on Twitter he would not be appearing on the program this weekend out of “solidarity” with the former captain.
Furthermore, Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas, and Micah Richards, also said they did not wish to appear on the program without Lineker, prompting the BBC to announce that Saturday's edition would “focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry.”
UK’s Labour party depicted the BBC’s decision as an attack on free speech, while Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the move “indefensible.”
“Gary Lineker off air is an assault on free speech in the face of political pressure,” the opposition Labour Party said, calling for the BBC to rethink its decision.
The 62-year-old Lineker is one of the UK’s most influential media figures, with 8.7 million followers on Twitter.
His criticism came on the heels of a new migration plan approved by the British government this week, which is aimed at detaining the migrants arriving in small boats across the English Channel and preventing them from claiming asylum and deporting them either back to their homeland or to so-called safe third countries.
The new policy has drawn criticism from opposition parties, charities, and the United Nations refugee agency for its impact on refugees.
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