Numerous celebrities, pundits and presenters have spoken out in support of Gary Lineker after he was taken off air by the BBC this week.
The axe came after the Match of the Day host became embroiled in a debate over impartiality when he compared the language used to launch a new UK Government asylum policy to Germany in the 1930s.
He said in a post on Twitter earlier this week: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
"This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s."
After the BBC took Gary off air, several fellow pundits announced that they would boycott Match of the Day in response, with the show airing on Saturday night without any presenters or pundits.
Former footballer John Barnes is one of many people supporting Gary - and here he explains why.
John Barnes says:
I am not supporting Gary Lineker because he was a brilliant player and my England team mate – I am supporting him because he’s right.
Gary was not equating Britain to Nazi Germany. All he said – which is true – is that the language used towards the asylum seekers is similar to the language used by Germany in the 1930s.
And he had the right to express his view on his personal Twitter account.
The BBC can’t pick and choose when it wants to be impartial. It was OK for Gary to be critical of Qatar and its human rights record –yet it’s not OK for him to be critical of human rights issues in his own country. The truth is the BBC is crying about wrongdoing because they are frightened of the Government. If Gary had tweeted: “I really agree with Suella on this – what a brilliant policy,” do you think he’d have been sent packing?
He’d have got abuse on social media, but I guarantee the BBC would have turned a blind eye. It says it all when the BBC chairman is still in his job despite helping arrange an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson.
This whole storm is perfect for the Government – and the BBC are playing into its hands. We are all now talking about Gary Lineker - not the cost of living crisis, not the striking nurses and teachers. The Tories are quite happy for this distraction.
MOTD is an institution people love, so I’m sure Gary and everybody will be back in time. There will be an agreement reached. Gary could have just apologised and all would have been forgotten about. But he stuck to his guns, and you have to admire him for that.
Gary is a football legend to so many. But most people are not supporting him because they think he’s a hero – they’re supporting him because he’s right.
