Gary Lineker has broken his silence on the decision for him to be taken off Match of the Day presenting duties - saying that the decision was the BBC's and not his.
A spokesperson for the BBC confirmed on Friday that Lineker would not be presenting the football highlights show until an agreement has been made regarding "his future use of social media", following remarks he made about UK immigration.
Fellow pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright have since both confirmed that they will not be appearing on the show this Saturday in support of their colleague.
Veteran presenter Lineker described the UK Government's new Migration Bill as "beyond awful" when it was unveiled by Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Tuesday.
Lineker later added: "This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s."
Lineker told Channel 5 in an interview relating to him not presenting the show on an interim basis: "They've told me I have to step back", reports the Mirror.
On Friday, a BBC spokesperson said: "The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.
"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.
"When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none. 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."
Lineker , who played 80 times for England, has hosted the football highlights programme since 1999, and is employed by the BBC on a freelance basis. He earned £1.35m in 2020/21, the highest of any presenter for the publicly-funded corporation.
Political tweets earlier this week from Lineker's personal Twitter account sparked the row. Responding to a tweet from the Home Secretary outlining plans to stop migrants crossing the English Channel on boats which claimed the United Kingdom is "overwhelmed", Lineker wrote: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful."
He later added: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the '30s."
Pundit Wright has since said he will not present Saturday's show in "solidarity" with Lineker. He tweeted: "Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity."
Fellow panelist Shearer said on Friday evening on Twitter: "I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night."
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave her views on Friday evening, tweeting: "As a strong supporter of public service broadcasting, I want to be able to defend the BBC. But the decision to take @GaryLineker off air is indefensible. It is undermining free speech in the face of political pressure - & it does always seem to be rightwing pressure it caves to.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
READ NEXT:
Dementia-stricken OAP found wandering streets as care home tell daughter he's safe 'in bed'
Police probe claims Man City defender Kyle Walker 'indecently exposed himself in pub'
Scots football fans 'smuggling flares into games via baguettes and children's jacket hoods'
Scots carer who stole £20,000 from vulnerable elderly patient jailed for 14 months
Five-year-old boy dies in hospital after three-car crash on Scots road
Eerie image shows derelict Scots housing scheme that featured in Trainspotting
