BBC sports presenters refuse to work after host suspended for criticizing British migrant policy

BBC Britain was forced to ax much of its sports coverage after the presenters refused to work in solidarity with Gary Lineker, as a row about freedom of speech threatens to become a crisis for the national broadcaster.

Former England football captain Lineker, BBC’s highest paid presenter and anchor of football highlights programme Match the daywas taken off the air by the broadcaster on Friday after criticizing Britain’s migration policy earlier in the week.

Many sports programs were not broadcast as scheduled on Saturday after several presenters walked out, prompting the BBC to apologize to viewers.

“We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so as soon as possible,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

Lineker’s row has fueled a debate about the BBC’s neutrality, and put the government against one of the country’s most famous and popular sports presenters.

Lineker declined to comment to the media as he left his home in London on Saturday, and did not answer questions from reporters when he arrived at the King Power Stadium in Leicester, where he was watching his former club.

The BBC is committed to being politically neutral, but now faces criticism from the opposition Labor Party and media commentators who accuse it of silencing Lineker in response to pressure from the Conservative government.

“The BBC is not acting impartially by giving in to Tory MPs complaining about Gary Lineker,” Labor leader Keir Starmer told reporters at a conference in Wales on Saturday.

Compared to Nazi rhetoric

The unrest comes after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new laws earlier in the week banning the entry of asylum seekers arriving on small boats in the English Channel.

Lineker, 62, took to Twitter to describe the law as a “brutal policy aimed at the most vulnerable in a language not dissimilar to what Germany used in the 30s.”

A spokesman for Sunak called the comments “unacceptable,” while Home Affairs Minister Suella Braverman said Lineker’s reaction to the policy was “offensive.”

To resolve the dispute, the BBC said there must be an agreed position on Lineker’s social media use before he can return to presenting.

The BBC is on fire

But critics of Lineker’s suspension say he is entitled to his personal opinion because he does not present a news programme.

Greg Dyke, who was director general of the BBC between 2000-2004, told BBC radio on Saturday that the BBC had made a mistake by sacking Lineker because it gave the impression that the government could tell broadcasters what to do.

“The prevailing perception is that Gary Lineker, the beloved television presenter, was dropped following government pressure on certain issues,” he said.

It could alienate viewers from the 100-year-old BBC, which is funded by a $192 annual “license fee” tax on all television-watching households.

While broadcasters remain central to British cultural life, they are struggling to stay relevant to younger audiences and face future funding threats as some Conservative MPs want to scrap license fees.

Saturday’s edition Match the day, a show that Lineker hosted for more than 20 years, was scheduled to air in its regular time slot despite its absence. The BBC said it would “focus on the action of the match without studio presentation or punditry.”