Gary Lineker’s return to the BBC has been confirmed after a tweet that he shared sparked intense debates over the broadcaster’s impartality rules, it’s been reported.
Last week, the pundit posted a tweet comparing the Home Office’s migrant boat policy to Nazi Germany, sparking both widespread praise and criticism.
While the 62-year-old said that he stood by his social media post, it was revealed that he’d been asked to step back from presenting Match of the Day on Saturday March 11.
Presenters including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright stood by Lineker in solidarity, refusing to host the programme, which resulted in it being devoid of presenters and commentary and lasting only 20 minutes long.
It’s been claimed that Lineker is set to now return to the BBC after being taken off air, Sky News reported.
According to the publication, he’s due to receive an apology from the broadcaster.
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In addition to the scaled-down version of this weekend’s MOTD, Football Focus and Final Score were also cancelled on Saturday.
The BBC apologised for disruption the changes to the schedule would cause sports fans.
‘The BBC will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.
‘We are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans.’
Lineker’s son George Lineker recently spoke out in his father’s defence, saying that his dad felt ‘overwhelmed’ by the support that he’d received.
‘This week has been very overwhelming, and I do think it has been hurtful for Dad. But all the support he has received has made him feel a lot better and I know he has no regrets,’ he said.
The 31-year-old continued: ‘After it all kicked off, me and my brothers messaged him saying, “We’re proud of you”, and he replied, “Cheers boys”, with a thumbs up emoji.
‘Later he told us that he’d been so overwhelmed by the support. He wrote, “Shearer and Wrighty backing down made me emotional, it means a lot to me.”
‘I think he did cry when he found out about that. The support has been a positive thing to come out of this.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC for comment.
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