The pundit returned to the BBC after a short absence (Picture: VI Images via Getty Images)
Gary Lineker has shared that he and BBC director-general Tim Davie struck up a deal allowing him to post about two issues he feels passionately about: the refugee crisis and climate change.
The pundit claimed that they made their agreement when the broadcaster boss first introduced his guidelines.
Earlier this month, the former professional footballer sparked a debate about impartiality at the BBC after comparing the language used in the Home Office’s migrant boat policy to vocabulary ‘used by Germany in the 30s’.
The 62-year-old was subsequently asked to step back from presenting Match of the Day on Saturday March 11, with several other TV personalities, including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, boycotting the programme in solidarity with their friend and colleague.
Gary later returned to the BBC, with the company due to have a review conducted of its social media guidance, as he said in an update: ‘I am glad that we have found a way forward. I support this review and look forward to getting back on air.’
In a new interview on The Rest is Politics podcast with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, he shed further light on what went down from his point of view.
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He said that he still felt ‘bewildered’ by the ‘disproportionate’ response to his tweet, stressing that his remark about Germany in the 1930s ‘was never meant as any kind of comparison with the Holocaust or anything like that’.
Gary was astounded to wake up the next day to find hundreds of messages on his phone, with no idea what had caused the barrage of texts, fearing that something had happened to one of his children, or ‘some kind of scandal’ had occurred.
On when he realised it was about his tweet, he added: ‘My first thing was really, “Hang on a minute, I’ve not been abusive to anyone. I’ve not said anything particularly controversial”. I think it was factual.’
He continued: ‘I’m not saying at all our policies echo those of Germany, but sometimes some of the language is not dissimilar.’
Alan Shearer and Ian Wright stood in solidarity with Gary (Picture: BBC/Pete Dadds)
Gary then brought up the conversation that he had with Tim about being allowed to speak about the refugee crisis and climate change freely, stating: ‘When I first met Tim Davie when he first brought in his guidelines, we had a discussion and I said to Tim, “There are two things that I’ll continue to talk up on, that I will not back down on.”
‘And he agreed. One of them was about the refugee crisis and the other one was about climate change. I put this in that category.’
Putting forward the question of whether he would ‘do it differently now’, the TV personality said: ‘Probably, after the furore that it’s caused. But I think that it’s true and factual so I don’t think impartiality comes into it. I never contemplated it would be an issue at all.’
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Gary recalled having a ‘tear in his eye’ when he heard that Ian and Alan had announced that they wouldn’t be fronting Match of the Day as a show of support for him.
‘It’s one thing saying that in a moment, but then actually to carry that through, they didn’t need to do that,’ he said.
Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC for comment.
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The pundit returned to the BBC after a short absence.