US Soccer Legend Shares a 5-Word Response to Hosting BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ Following Gary Lineker’s Suspension

Gary Lineker is highly regarded and renowned personality in England’s. Aside from being known as a soccer player, the 62-year-old is quite famous as a sports broadcaster for the famous media house, the BBC.

However, the former English soccer player has taken the headlines around the world after he got into deliberation with the BBC. The famous broadcaster recently decided to suspend Gary after he made comments criticizing the Conservative government’s immigration policy.

The former England skipper ignited a fire after making remarks on the British home secretary, Suella Braverman. He criticized her for using similar language to Nazi Germany to promote a plan to stop asylum seekers who arrive on boats across the English Channel.

Linekar has been a part of the BBC’s 1964 program for more than a decade. It would be the first time they are hosting the famous show without him.

US Soccer legend responds on Lineker’s suspension

While the world is caught up in the Lineker-BBC debacle, former US soccer star Alexi Lalas has reacted to the situation in his own way. The ex-USMNT man was poked by a netizen on Twitter related to the situation. The tweet said, “Scenes when Alexi Lalas hosts Match Of The Day tomorrow.”

To which Lalas replied, “England should be so lucky.” The 52-year-old is also a sports analyst and runs a podcast named “State of the Union.”

After a few days of constant debate among netizens and through the halls of parliament, the BBC said Mr. Lineker’s social media response was a breach of their guidelines and has been suspended.

“The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting ‘Match of the Day’ until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media,” said the BBC in a statement.

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“When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none,” the statement said. “We have never said that Gary should be an opinion-free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.”

Gary Lineker gets BBC in huge dilemma

Soon after the BBC’s statement, former soccer players and co-hosts Ian Wright and Alan Shearer also took a decision regarding the situation. They duo informed the BBC that they wouldn’t be appearing on the show on Saturday.

It seems the boycott moment has not only sparked among his co-hosts but his potential replacements as well. Furthermore, several Premier League players and coaches will not appear in the postgame interviews to show solidarity for Mr. Lineker.

The BBC did release a statement late Friday insisting that the show “Match of the Day” will take place as scheduled. The only change is that it would take place without hosts or commentary. Instead, a spokesman from the BBC insisted that the program would focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry.

The BBC wanted Lineker to acknowledge a public statement stating his apology and that he would be more cautious in the future. However, nothing of that sort has been said.

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It’s indeed a wild situation, and many have come out in support of Mr. Lineker. What are your views on this situation? Let us know in the comments.