Lineker off flagship BBC soccer show after Twitter posts
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
Former England captain Gary Lineker has been temporarily removed from his role as presenter of the BBC’s flagship soccer highlights show in the wake of his criticism of the British government’s new asylum policy. The BBC says the long-running “Match of the Day” program will now be aired on Saturday “without studio presentation or punditry.” That decision was taken after a slew of Lineker’s colleagues announced they wouldn’t appear on the show without him. Lineker has compared British lawmakers’ language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany. The BBC considers Lineker posting such views on social media as a breach of its guidelines.
