Gary Lineker has spoken for the first time on TV screens since his return to working on the BBC.
The renowned pundit was back working as lead presenter for the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley. He was still not back working on Match of the Day, following his return to the broadcasting company earlier this week.
Lineker was forced to step aside from his role on the BBC’s flagship Premier League highlights programme following his comments on Twitter about the Government's controversial new policy on asylum seekers. The decision led to several pundits and commentators announcing they would not work on the programme as a show of solidarity for their colleague.
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A few days later, it was announced that Lineker would return to work for the BBC, but not immediately on Match of the Day. It also led to an apology from BBC Director-General Tim Davie apologising for the disruption to programming last weekend.
Now that Lineker is back on television screens with the BBC, he has now spoken for the first time since his return. He was joined by fellow pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, and it was the former Newcastle striker who gave a statement at the start of the coverage.
“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.
“It’s good to get back to some form of normality, and be talking about football again.”
Lineker responded by saying: “Absolutely, I echo those sentiments.”
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