The BBC has suspended Match of the Day host and former footballer Gary Lineker from the air. The reason for this was his tweets criticizing the anti-migrant bill proposed by British Home Secretary Swell Braverman.
She announced the government's plans on 7 March. Under the proposed bill, people who enter the UK illegally would automatically be prevented from ever claiming asylum there. Lineker called the initiative incredibly brutal and stated that it was not much different from German policy in the 1930s. In response, Braverman accused him of downplaying the tragedy of the Holocaust.
Lineker was supported by the rest of the leading programs, as well as its experts. They said they would not go on the air. In addition to colleagues, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Nobel Prize winner in literature Kazuo Ishiguro, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn and others expressed their solidarity with Lineker.
Lineker has hosted Match of the Day since 1999. In 2020, he spoke out in support of the refugees, saying that they can live in his mansion in Surrey. The BBC said they were sympathetic to the decision of the presenters, experts and Lineker himself. At the same time, the channel emphasized that he had previously been warned that he should distance himself from participating in political disputes. Linketer will be suspended until there is an "agreed and clear position regarding his use of social networks."