Alan Shearer's feelings on Gary Lineker made clear on BBC's FA Cup coverage
Alan Shearer's heartfelt apology to Match of the Day viewers over Gary Lineker's exclusion emphasises the deep connection with his co-host. Mired in a row over impartiality, Lineker found himself sidelined from his BBC presenting role in March 2023 after expressing his views on the then-UK Government's approach to asylum seekers.
Taking to Twitter after the Tories revealed their new policy, Lineker drew stark parallels between their language and that used in 1930s Germany, tweeting: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful," He went on to say: "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, and I'm out of order?" The BBC later confirmed that Lineker would step away from Match of the Day while the two sides reached an agreement on his use of social media.
In a show of unity, fellow presenters including Shearer and Ian Wright withdrew from their posts, leading to the March 11, 2023, broadcast being significantly trimmed to a mere 20 minutes without commentary or analysis. A touched Lineker spoke on The Rest Is Politics podcast, saying: "I must admit, I had a tear in my eye. It just moved me, it was beautiful.
"When it first happened...it's one thing saying that in a moment, but then actually to carry that through, they didn't need to do that.", reports the Express.
Despite the hiccup, Lineker was soon back helming Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final match against Burnley, flanked by Shearer and Micah Richards. Upon their broadcast return, Shearer promptly took a moment to address the audience about the recent disruption.
He remarked: "I just need to clear up and wanted to say how upset we were for the audience that missed out last weekend. It was a really 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 and that wasn't fair, so it's good to get back to some sort of normality and be talking about football again."
To which, Lineker added: "Absolutely, I echo those sentiments." It comes as the clock winds down on the longstanding professional partnership between Lineker and Shearer at the BBC.
This statement comes amid the ticking clock on the enduring collaboration between Lineker and Shearer with the BBC.
The ticker is running as Lineker is set to hang up his hat as the Match of the Day's frontman following the 2024/25 season. With the 2025/26 season, viewers will witness a significant shift in presentation style for the show with Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates, and Gabby Logan slated to form the new presenting trio, leading the programme into fresh territory.
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