Gary Lineker to return after BBC reverses suspension for post on Twitter

Gary Lineker will return as TV host after the British Broadcasting Corporation reversed the former soccer great’s suspension on Monday.

‘Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend,’ BBC director general Tim Davie said.

Lineker, one of English soccer’s most lauded players and the corporation’s highest-paid television presenter, was suspended on Friday after he criticised the British government’s new asylum policy on Twitter by comparing the Conservative government’s language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.

He described the government’s plan to detain and deport migrants arriving by boat as “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 Conservative government called Lineker’s Nazi comparison offensive and unacceptable with some lawmakers saying that the BBC should terminate his contract.

BBC had faced widespread condemnation for its action and said that the tweet breached its impartiality rules.

The broadcaster was forced to scrap much of its weekend sports programming after commentators, analysts and Premier League players refused to appear as a way of showing support for Lineker.

However, critics accused BBC of suppressing free speech.

Davie insisted on Monday that the BBC “did the right thing” by suspending Lineker. However, he said that there would be an independent review of the BBC’s social media rules to address the “gray areas” in the guidelines. ‘Between now and when the review reports, Gary will abide by the editorial guidelines,’ he said.

While British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged Lineker and the BBC to settle their disagreement, Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, had said the BBC was caving into political pressure from Conservative lawmakers.

Lineker, a former England international and the top scorer at the 1986 World Cup finished his international career with 48 goals in 80 matches for England. The 62-year-old retired after stints with Barcelona, Tottenham, Everton and Leicester.

Lineker went on to become one of the UK's most influential media figures and the BBC's best-paid star, earning 1.35 million pounds (USD 1.6 million) last year.

He has hosted Match of the Day since 1999.

Thanking his supporters, Lineker tweeted ‘A final thought: however difficult the last few days have been, it simply doesn’t compare to having to flee your home from persecution or war to seek refuge in a land far away.’ ‘It’s heartwarming to have seen the empathy towards their plight from so many of you.’