Gary Lineker has admitted he was moved to tears by the show of support he received from Ian Wright and Alan Shearer during his fall-out with the BBC.
The Match of the Day host was asked to stand down from his role by the corporation after he publicly criticised the government's new policy for tackling the issue of small boats crossing the English channel. The former England international suffered a backlash following his social media comments and was effectively forced off air after being told that he had breached the broadcaster's impartiality guidelines.
But the long-serving anchorman quickly received support from Wright, who Tweeted soon after that he would also not be appearing on Match of Day if Lineker was not allowed to fulfil his role. And fellow show pundit Shearer soon followed suit, plunging the BBC Sport editorial team into crisis.
