BBC crisis escalates as supporters rally behind Lineker after asylum remark

Britain's national broadcaster, BBC, has scrambled to stem an escalating crisis over its suspension of former football star and programme presenter Gary Lineker for comments criticising the British government's new asylum policy.

The broadcaster said it is "working hard to resolve the situation" after it was forced to scrap much of its sports coverage on Saturday as multiple presenters pulled out of programmes to show solidarity with Lineker. 

While it received praise from some Conservative politicians for its decision, the reaction to suspend Lineker was overwhelmingly negative.

He was suspended from “Match of the Day,” a popular highlights show, over a Twitter post that compared lawmakers’ language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany.

Football fans tuning for “Match of the Day” — the late-night football show that has been a British institution for 60 years — will likely get match coverage from the same feed used by broadcasters around the world instead of BBC’s own commentators and no studio punditry from some of the most high-profile stars in the British game.

There will not be any post-match player interviews, either. 

The Professional Footballers’ Association said some players wanted to boycott the show as a gesture of support, and as a result “players involved in today’s games will not be asked to participate in interviews with ‘Match of The Day.’”

The union said it was a “common sense solution” to avoid players facing sanctions for breaching their broadcast commitments.

The BBC said it was "sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans. We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.”

READ MORE: BBC presenter Lineker punished over UK refugee policy criticism

Nazi comparison

An enthusiastic social media user with 8.7 million Twitter followers, Lineker has long irked right-of-centre politicians and activists with his liberal views, including criticism of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

The latest controversy began with a tweet on Tuesday from Lineker’s account describing 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, and some lawmakers said he should be fired.

On Friday, the BBC said Lineker would “step back” from “Match of the Day” until “we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.” 

Lineker has yet to comment publicly, and on Saturday went to his hometown of Leicester to watch Leicester City play Chelsea. He was greeted with cheers from bystanders as he arrived.

The 100-year-old BBC, which is funded by a license fee paid by all households with a television, has a duty to be impartial in its news coverage, and BBC news staff are barred from expressing political opinions.

Lineker, as a freelancer who does not work in news or current affairs, is not bound by the same rules, and has sometimes pushed the boundaries of what the BBC considers acceptable.

READ MORE: UK to Rwanda: Why Britain’s new refugee plan is unethical and inhuman