Gary Lineker is reportedly close to returning to Match of the Day, with talks between the BBC and the presenter said to be “moving in the right direction” after a weekend of scheduling disruption, though not all issues are yet fully resolved, the BBC has reported.
The corporation is expected to announce a review of its social media guidelines in the wake of the controversial suspension of the presenter, with some reports indicating Lineker may agree to be more careful about what he tweets.
Sources close to the former England striker are reportedly increasingly confident that the impartiality row will be resolved to his satisfaction in the next 24 hours.
There is said to be “growing confidence” he will resume hosting the popular BBC show from which he was stood down last week after a tweet in which he compared language used to launch the government’s new asylum policy with that used in 1930s Germany.
The BBC reported that talks between Lineker and the broadcaster were “moving in the right direction”. It added that there “are hopes of a resolution soon, but not all issues are ‘fully resolved’ at this stage”.
Football coverage on BBC TV and radio shows was hit across the weekend as pundits, presenters and reporters – including Alan Shearer, Ian Wright and Alex Scott – walked out in solidarity with Lineker.
Match of the Day aired for just 20 minutes on Saturday without accompanying commentary or analysis from presenters, and Sunday’s edition followed a similar format, running for a reduced 15 minutes.
Coverage of the Women’s Super League match between Chelsea and Manchester United aired without a pre-match presentation on Sunday, and Radio 5 Live replaced much of its usual live sports coverage over the weekend with pre-recorded content.
Lineker has not publicly commented on the situation since he was taken off air on Friday, telling journalists he “can’t say anything”.
The BBC director general, Tim Davie, has apologised for the disruption, but said he would not resign. He told BBC News on Saturday he was in “listening mode” about how to reform impartiality rules for staff outside the news operation after a “difficult day”. He described Lineker as the “best sports broadcaster in the world” and said he wanted to see him back on air.
The BBC chair, Richard Sharp, is facing growing pressure to resign as the corporation’s policy on impartiality has been called into question. Sharp, who was appointed chair in February 2021, has been embroiled in a row over helping the former prime minister Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility in recent months.
An investigation is being undertaken into his appointment but he now faces renewed scrutiny, with both the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell, questioning Sharp’s position in light of the Lineker row.
Rishi Sunak said the issue between the BBC and Lineker should be resolved by the BBC itself.
He said: “Richard Sharp was appointed by a government before my time, before I was prime minister. That process is being reviewed again by someone who has been appointed independently. It’s right that process finishes its course. It wouldn’t be right for me to speculate before then.”
The BBC has not commented further on internal efforts to resolve the situation.
Paul Armstrong, a former Match of the Day editor, told the BBC there was a “lack of consistency … and clear guidelines” for how impartiality applies to sports staff and he “wasn’t in the least bit surprised” by the collective response from presenters, pundits and commentators.
Mark Thompson, who served as BBC director general between 2004 and 2012, told the BBC enforcing impartiality rules for non-news staff was complex, noting that “the BBC has walked into the 21st century”.
