Gary Lineker is set to land a juicy broadcasting deal after the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, axed him for politically-charged tweets.
Gary Linekar sparked a row on free speech when he slammed the proposed Illegal Migration Bill – a plan seeking to detain and arrests migrants arriving on the shores of the country illegally. Gary Lineker linked the bill to the Nazi structures and policies of the “1930s Germany” instigated by Adolf Hitler.
BBC lashed out at the 62-year-old English football veteran for taking a swipe at the planned parliamentary bill via a politically-charged tweet, asking him to step down from his football presentation role for “breach of guidelines.”
Since 1999, Gary Lineker has been the voice behind one of the most followed flagship football shows on the BBC – Match Of The Day.
Following his Twitter outburst with the UK’s planned immigration policy, his £1.3m contract for hosting the Match of the Day football show was temporarily suspended until “a clear position on his social media use was agreed.”
BBC’s suspension of Gary Lineker sparked a spiral of negative reactions from other presenters and co-hosts, who used to feature on the show. Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas, Alex Scott, Mark Chapman, and Micah Richards all boycotted the show in solidarity with Lineker.
On Saturday, the flagship football show was orphaned for the first time since 1999. The program went on without its regular voices, no commentators, pundits, or presenters.
Meanwhile, according to Daily Mail, the massive support around Gary Lineker after the incident has seen other broadcast agencies queue up for the services of the veteran football presenter.
Daily Mail reports that UK-based Sports behemoth, BT Sport, are interested in signing Gary Lineker as the broadcast group plans to revamp into TNT Sports seeking to expand their coverage.
Gary Lineker is reportedly sought after by BT Sport to take charge of the group’s Premier League and Champions League coverage.
Apart from the interest from BT Sport, another top UK-based media giant, ITV Sports, are also reportedly interested in signing Gary Linekar and sources close to the veteran have disclosed the 62-year-old may likely be given a free hand to choose his paycheck which may likely be three times his £1.3m contract with the BBC.
What did Gary Linekar say in the Twitter row?
Gary Lineker was reacting to a video of UK’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who had proposed an immigration plan called the small boats plan.
The Small Boats Plan, as the legislation is called, was aimed at having migrants arrested and detained immediately after they arrive in the UK or taken to another safe third state in 28 days.
Gary Lineker took to his Twitter handle and shared a clip of Suella Braverman’s video and wrote, “Good heavens, this is beyond awful.”
Responding to another user who described him as “out of order”, he added: “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 tweet sparked a row with the BBC, who insisted Gary should “keep well away from taking sides on political topics.”
