Gary Lineker – latest: BBC talks with presenter ‘moving in right direction’ as disruption continues

BBC chairman Richard Sharp is facing growing pressure to resign as the corporation’s policy on impartiality has been challenged after Gary Lineker was told to stand down from presenting Match Of The Day.

Mr Sharp, who was appointed chairman in February 2021, has been embroiled in a cronyism row over helping former prime minister Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility in recent months.

Naomi Clarke reports:

On social media, many famous friends and fans of Lineker have shown support for the presenter using hashtags such as “#IStandWithGary”.

Here, we give you a list of all the celebrities who have supported Gary Lineker.

Carol Vorderman

Presenter Carol Vorderman has posted several messages using the hashtag “#IStandWithGary”.

On Saturday, Vorderman tweeted that she was at the BBC’s headquarters in London “where there is a statue of George Orwell and his words”.

Her post included the quote: “If Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”

Self Esteem

Singer Self Esteem – whose real name is Rebecca Lucy Taylor – showed her support for Lineker during her sold-out show at London’s Eventim Apollo on Saturday night.

Returning for her encore, the “I Do This All The Time” singer appeared on stage in a “Free Gary” t-shirt.

In a photo shared on Instagram, she wrote: “Thank you London. Solidarity @garylineker.”

Dawn French

Actor and comedian Dawn French retweeted a post from a Twitter user which read: “Shakespeare saying stand with Gary Lineker. As only he can”.

The post quoted a passage from Shakespeare’s play Sir Thomas More.

Above the retweeted post, French added: “This. #IStandWithGaryLineker.”

Piers Morgan

Despite saying he “did not agree” with Lineker’s tweet, Piers Morgan surprised social media users as he offered support for the Match of the Day presenter.

“Gary didn’t say any of it on the BBC, and isn’t even a BBC employee… I didn’t agree with what he said, but so what? It’s HIS opinion.”

Fatboy Slim

During his show at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on Friday, DJ Fatboy Slim – real name Norman Cook – projected Lineker’s face on screen as part of the visuals for his set.

Lineker’s face was met with loud cheers, with Cook writing on social media: “Enough respect #imwithgary.”

Philip Pullman

Writer Philip Pullman lent his support to Lineker, Wright and Shearer.

He tweeted: “I hope the BBC finds this all very difficult. Meanwhile, my admiration for Gary Lineker, Ian Wright, and Alan Shearer is unbounded.”

Kazuo Ishiguro

Nobel Literature laureate and football fan Kazuo Ishiguro also backed Lineker.

“I think he’s become one of the really important cultural figures for the country. I think he stands for really good things. I’m fully behind him on this”, he wrote.

Emily Maitlis

Former BBC Newsnight host Emily Maitlis, who was reprimanded by the broadcaster for retweeting a post from Piers Morgan criticising the government’s response to the pandemic, said the corporation could face a “bigger battle” following its decision.

“I’m not sure when they suggested to Gary Lineker he step back from #MOTD the BBC realised it might be starting a much much bigger battle”, she wrote.

Picture the reaction if a parliamentary by-election occurred now and Lineker threw his hat in the ring, says Simon Walters.

Match of the Day 2 coverage will last for only 14 minutes tonight as the row between Gary Lineker and the BBC continues.

The Women’s Super League Chelsea v Manchester United game on BBC Two kicked off with no pre-match presentation and no pundits tonight.

BBC Radio 5 Live’s football phone-in programme 606 will also not air again tonight, according to Sky News.

A box of chocolates and a thank you card have been left on Gary Lineker’s doorstep, thanking him for his stance on refugees.

Chris Hoydon, 42, who lives nearby, arrived with his partner and son and left raspberry and champagne truffles and a card for the former England footballer and Match Of The Day pundit.

He told PA news agency: “The letter says ‘thank you for showing such leadership on a really important issue.’

“We live locally and don’t know him at all, but we really like him and I am a really passionate believer in refugee rights and the rights of asylum seekers.

“My dad used to work for the BBC and I really believe in the BBC, but it is ridiculous as it has no effect on impartiality.

“There have been plenty of examples of people in the BBC who have been clear about their politics. If he had come out in favour of Government policy he would not have been monstered like this. Of course he wouldn’t have, it is ridiculous.”

The BBC “make it difficult” to defend them following the Gary Lineker controversy, Ed Balls said.

Mr Balls, who was shadow chancellor between 2011-2015, said: “I’m one of those people who hates the far right and the hard left attacking the BBC.

“I want to defend the BBC as our impartial broadcaster but sometimes they make it difficult,” he told Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show while discussing the Gary Lineker controversy.

The BBC is locked in urgent talks with Gary Lineker to get him back in work and end the staff boycott which has crippled the broadcaster’s weekend sports schedule, The Independent understands.

Senior sources at the BBC said that talks with the Match of the Day host were “inching forward”, with the aim of getting Lineker back to work this week. A breakthrough would be announced immediately if reached.

BBC director general Tim Davie has made it clear he wants to see the presenter back on air, after he was suspended on Friday for comparing the government’s asylum crackdown to Nazi Germany.

Thomas Kingsley reports:

Ed Balls ‘doesn’t agree’ with language used by Gary Lineker, he told Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show today.

The former shadow chancellor said: “I don’t agree with the way which Gary Lineker used language about the 1930s. I don’t think on the BBC you have a right to unfettered free speech, but they way they responded by taking him off air, and also the inconsistency of treating Gary Lineker, a sports broadcaster in that way, while, for example, Alan Sugar gets away with far more blatant party political statements.

“I mean, its ridiculous. They have got to get this sorted out.”

Former Tory chancellor George Osborne said Richard Sharp might prove “collateral damage” from the Lineker controversy, but stopped short of calling for him to quit.

“The chairman of the BBC should be there to defend the BBC, come thick or thin, against the government and Richard’s got to show in the next couple of days he can do that, and perhaps broker some kind of deal,” he told Channel 4’s The Andrew Neil Show.