Gary Lineker looks in line for a return to BBC TV as talks with the company over his suspension are "inching closer" to an agreement.
Lineker, long-term presenter of their flagship Match of the Day highlights show and much of their live sport coverage, has been off air since Friday after the national broadcaster found his tweets criticising the government's immigration policy to be in breach of their impartiality regulations. Lineker's suspension sparked a mass boycott from other pundits such as Ian Wright, Alex Scott and Alan Shearer and that led to Saturday's Match of the Day being cut down to 20 minutes with no commentary, punditry or even its iconic opening credits.
The BBC have scaled back much of their football coverage with Sportscene subject to similar cuts as the row continues. But reports down south suggest it shouldn't last long with Lineker in talks over a quickfire return to BBC TV.
Lineker was quizzed by reporters as he was seen walking his dog near his house in London but he was tight-lipped saying he had "nothing to say" on his potential return. But The Telegraph say Lineker and the broadcaster are "inching closer" to an agreement after director-general Tim Davie flew back for crunch talks. It's claimed the BBC are "increasingly confident" of having Lineker back on TV screens in the foreseeable future despite claims elsewhere that ITV had offered to treble his salary.
One report even suggests Lineker could be back in time for next weekend's coverage of the FA Cup quarter-finals. Manchester City face Burnley in the first of those at 5.45pm on Saturday which could be Lineker's first live game back while he could also be in the presenting chair for Match of the Day on Saturday evening.
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