FOOTBALL LONDON
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has launched a passionate defence over Match of the Day host Gary Lineker after he ‘stepped down’ from his presenter role on the show. Wright, joined by Alan Shearer, made the decision not to feature on Saturday evening’s programme in a show of solidarity with Lineker.
The 62-year old MOTD icon has been made to ‘step back’ from the broadcasting corporations football show after breaching the BBC’s ‘social media guidelines’. Lineker compared the language used by the government in their asylum plans earlier this week to “that used by Germany in the 30s” in a tweet posted on Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesperson from the BBC revealed that Match of the Day will be going ahead, but with no presenters or pundits during the show. “Some of our pundits have said that they don’t wish to appear on the programme while we seek to resolve the situation with Gary,” they said.
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) released a statement confirming that Premier League players will not be asked to conduct interviews with the BBC’s Match of the Day. Football Focus, Final Score and BBC Radio 5 Live have all taken the decision not to air coverage of today’s football matches following the news of Lineker stepping down from his role on Match of the Day.
Wright was the first person to publicly back Lineker by stating he would not take part in the show, tweeting on Friday night: “Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.”
Speaking on Friday’s ‘Wrighty House’ podcast, the former Arsenal striker said he would quit the show altogether if the BBC gets rid of Lineker. Wright said: “Before we go I’ve got to deal with the Gary Lineker stuff because that’s my guy.
“He wrote a tweet criticising the government about everything that’s happening with human rights issues and everything here and it’s the perfect distraction for this government man. Gary’s tweet was the headline news.
“They need Gary Lineker to distract everybody because for me it is a human issue, it’s not political. They’ve got no empathy, the vulnerable ones are the ones that suffer, they’re the ones that suffer.
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