Gary Lineker has returned to Match of the Day for the first time since being forced to step aside from his role as a result of comparing the wording of the Government's controversial new policy on asylum seekers with that found in 1930s Germany on Twitter. He returned to our screens for the BBC's coverage of Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final against Burnley on Saturday evening.
However, it wasn't the popular presenter who opened the show. Instead it was left to pundit Alan Shearer to address the situation, as the former Newcastle striker gave a statement at the start of the programme.
“I just need to clear up and want to say how upset we were that all the audiences who missed out on last weekend,” said Shearer. “It was a difficult situation for everyone concerned and, through no fault of their own, some really great people in TV and radio were put in an impossible situation. That wasn’t fair.
