Gary Lineker reinstated by the BBC after protests from colleagues and fans: he had been suspended for a tweet against the government

The protests of colleagues and fans forced the Bbc re-entry Gary Lineker. The football commentator, a former England centre-forward, had been suspended for a tweet in which he criticized the new policy onimmigration of the government British. “Gary is a valuable part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I can’t wait for him to feature our coverage (of the Premier League, ndr) next weekend,” the BBC director-general said Tim Davie. Britain’s national broadcaster was forced to scrap much of its own sports programming of the weekend after that commentatorsanalysts and former players of the Premier they refused to appear as a demonstration of support the Lineker.

The former footballer, one of the greatest players in English history and the BBC’s highest-paid television commentator, was suspended on Friday after comparing the language of the Conservative government on migrants to that used in the Nazi Germany. The BBC said the tweet violated its rules on impartialitybut critics have accused her of suppressing the freedom of word. Davie explained that there will be an independent review of the rules on social media of the BBC to address the “grey areas” in the guidelines.

Lineker tweeted about his reinstatement talking about “surreal days” and wanted to thank “everyone for the incredible support, especially my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the amazing display of solidarity”. Football, he added, “is a team play, but their support was overwhelming. I have been presenting sport to the BBC for almost 3 decades and I am immensely proud to work with the best and most correct broadcaster in the world”. Then he added a “last thought” on the matter: “As difficult as the last few days have been, it simply does not compare to having to flee from your home from the persecution or from guerra to seek refuge in a distant land. It is touching to see theempathy towards their situation by so many of you. We remain a country of predominantly people tolerantwelcoming and generous. Thank you”.