Has Gary Lineker left BBC? Find out the reasons behind Gary Lineker’s suspension from BBC, and whether the English sportscaster has left BBC.
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, born November 30, 1960 in England, is a sports broadcaster, former professional footballer, and former English national. He has the distinction of scoring the most goals in England at three different clubs, including Leicester City, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. Lineker played for England’s national team and had 80 caps during his time at Barcelona, Spain. Lineker is the presenter of BBC’s Match of the Day, a renowned football program.
Lineker, who was born in Leicester in England, began his career in football in 1978 with Leicester City. In his first season, he scored 10 goals to earn the title of Young Player of Year for the club. He moved to Everton in 1980 for a British-record fee of PS1,000,000. Lineker’s goal-scoring skills continued at Everton. He scored 42 goals in his debut season, helping the club win the FA Cup.
Lineker moved to Barcelona in 1986 for PS2.8million. The team did not win any major trophies despite his impressive 24 goals in his first season. Lineker returned home to England in 1989 and joined Tottenham Hotspur. He paid PS2.5 million. Lineker continued to score prolifically, scoring 30 goals in the first season of his career and playing an important role in Tottenham’s FA Cup and League Cup wins.
Lineker retired as a professional footballer in 1994. He then transitioned to a career of football punditry and presenter. He has presented BBC shows such as Sports Personality of the Year, The One Show, and Match of the Day, in addition to hosting Match of the Day.
Lineker is a highly respected footballer in Britain, and is well-known for his dry humor and his outspoken opinions on the sport. He is an outspoken advocate of social justice and actively supports causes like animal welfare and climate changes.
Lineker received the OBE in 2005 for his contribution to football. In 2003, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame and in 2007 he was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.
Has Gary Lineker left BBC?
Gary Lineker is still with the BBC. He is currently the BBC’s Match of the Day presenter. Since his tenure began in 1999, Lineker is a well-respected and beloved figure on the channel.
Lineker was suspended from his duties as a broadcaster for a full week in March 2023 after criticizing the government’s immigration policy on social media. This was deemed a violation by the BBC of its guidelines for impartiality. Lineker was reinstated after an independent review concluded that he had not broken any rules.
Lineker is happy with his current position at the BBC, and has no plans to leave. Lineker has also stated that he will continue to present Match of the Day as long as he can. Lineker tweeted on March 8, 2023: “This cruel asylum policy of this government is not only illegal, but it’s also inhumane.” The UN Refugee Convention forbids the expulsion of refugees collectively. “The UK has violated its international obligations.”
Lineker was temporarily removed from the airwaves by the BBC because they felt that his tweets were not impartial. This decision was made to maintain the impartiality of Match of the Day. Lineker expressed his disappointment at the BBC’s decision and said that he felt justified in expressing himself.
A subsequent independent review determined that Lineker did not break any rules. Lineker’s Tweet was characterized as “personal opinion”, which did not compromise the neutrality of Match of the Day.
Why was Gary Lineker suspended from BBC?
Gary Lineker was suspended from the BBC for a week in March 2023 after he criticised the asylum policy of the British government on social media. The BBC cited the breach of their impartiality guidelines for the suspension. Lineker was reinstated following an independent review that determined he had not broken any rules.
Lineker tweeted on March 8, 2023: “This government’s cruel asylum policies is not only illegal, but it’s also inhumane.” The UN Refugee Convention forbids the expulsion of refugees collectively. “The UK has violated its international obligations.”
Lineker was removed from “Match of the Day” because the BBC deemed his tweets to be biased. Lineker responded by expressing his disappointment at the BBC’s decision. He also maintained that he felt justified in speaking up.
Lineker was found to have adhered to the rules in the independent review, which classified his tweet as “personal opinion,” and not compromising the impartiality of the “Match of the Day.”
Lineker has been presenting “Match of the Day” since the review.
Many accused the BBC of censorship for its decision to suspend Lineker. This incident has also led to a discussion about the BBC’s guidelines on impartiality and whether or not they are excessively restrictive.
Gary Lineker BBC – What happened?
Gary Lineker, BBC’s most-paid presenter was suspended for a week after criticizing government asylum policy in social media. BBC said Lineker’s remarks violated its impartiality guidelines. An independent review determined later that Lineker did not break any rules. He was reinstated.
Lineker tweeted on March 8, 2023: “This government’s asylum policy is cruel and illegal.” The UN Refugee Convention forbids mass expulsions of refugees. And the UK fails to meet its international obligations.”
Lineker’s tweet was deemed to be unimpartial by the BBC, which led to the decision to remove him temporarily from his duties on “Match of the Day” to maintain impartiality. Lineker was disappointed with the BBC decision and said that his actions were justified.
The independent review concluded that Lineker’s tweet was a “personal view” and didn’t compromise the impartiality of “Match of the Day.” Lineker was reinstated after the independent review and has continued to present “Match of the Day” since then.
Gary Lineker BBC Salary
Since several years, the salary of Gary Lineker at the BBC is a subject of public debate and scrutiny. According to the BBC annual report of 2021/2022 Lineker was the highest paid BBC presenter in the fiscal year, earning between PS1.35million and PS1.35,999999 for his role of presenter of “Match of the Day” and covering events such as Euro 2020. Lineker is also reported to have supplemented his income by working on advertising campaigns and corporate speeches. Lineker is also vocal about his support for charitable causes. He was a founder of the Fair Game Campaign, which seeks to improve governance and transparency within football.
In recent years, Gary Lineker’s BBC pay has been the focus of public controversy. Some critics have argued that it is excessive for his role as a sport presenter. Lineker defended his salary by stating that he was a respected and well-known figure in the broadcasting world and that his pay reflects his value to BBC and wider audiences.
Some have also criticized the BBC over gender pay disparity. They claim that Lineker’s salary is proof of a problem systemic within the organization. In response to these criticisms, the BBC pledged to close the pay gap between men and women by 2020. It also increased transparency regarding the salaries of the BBC’s top earners.
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