Alan Shearer has subtly made his feelings known regarding the influence of Gary Lineker and Match of the Day after the BBC's climbdown.
The broadcaster's football coverage was thrown into turmoil over the weekend following Friday's decision to take Lineker off presenting the flagship show on Saturday night due to comments he made on social media. One by one, his colleagues joined him in stating they wouldn't participate as a result.
Shearer was among the most high profile names to do so, alongside regular BBC pundit Ian Wright, but within 72 hours Lineker was reinstated after productive discussions with BBC bosses. The Premier League's all-time leading goalscorer has liked a tweet by Times journalist Henry Winter, who called on BBC chiefs to understand the influence of the famous highlights show.
He tweeted: "BBC bosses need to appreciate better how important Match of the Day is and what Gary Lineker brings to it. In an era of teams being more tactically sophisticated, the insight that Lineker & pundits bring is even more important. They spend hours watching games, then air analysis."
Match of the Day aired without any analysis on Saturday as a greatly reduced show was forced to focus purely on the match highlights as they failed to fill its usual spots. Lineker has spoken after being reinstated and hailed the support shown by his colleagues.
He tweeted: "After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming."
The former England international also added: "I'd like to thank Tim Davie for his understanding during this difficult period. He has an almost impossible job keeping everybody happy, particularly in the area of impartiality. I am delighted that we'll continue to fight the good fight, together."
Davie, the BBC's director general, has has spoken of the need to re-examine the social media guidelines imposed on the corporation's employees, who have to remain impartial, in the wake of the incident.
"I think people across the BBC, if you talk to them, are all very passionate about our standing as an impartial broadcaster. I want to fight for a BBC where we can have proper calm debate, facilitate free speech," he added.
