Piers Morgan has urged Gary Lineker to 'tell the BBC to go f*** themselves' after the pundit was asked to step back from presenting Match of the Day.
The regular presenter of Saturday's flagship highlights programme was told to temporarily step away from the role after comparing language used by the government in presenting their asylum plans 'to that used by Germany in the 30s.'
The BBC released a statement on Friday afternoon in which they said they found recent tweets from the former striker 'to be a breach of our guidelines". It added he should 'keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies'.
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And now Morgan, who has already defended Lineker's opinions and the principle of free speech, has leaped to the pundit's defence again.
He tweeted: "Gary Lineker should tell the BBC to go f*** themselves, as I told ITV to over the Markle debacle. Free speech is the cornerstone of democracy - the moment Britons agree to be told what we’re allowed to say or think, democracy dies."
Lineker is yet to publicly comment on the decision but was questioned earlier in the week and refused to apologise for tweeting his opinions.
During Friday evening's 5News live broadcast, presenter Dan Walker read out a text from the former Leicester City and England star, in which Lineker said 'they [the BBC] have told me I have to step back.'
In the aftermath of the news, regular pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer both confirmed they had told the BBC they will not be part of this weekend's show, with former Arsenal striker Wright explaining it was in 'solidarity' with Lineker.
Wright 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."
Shearer wrote: "I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night."
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