Gary Lineker went head-to-head with Alan Partridge tribute act Richard Madeley on Good Morning Britain.
Guess who came out on top?
Yes, that’s right, it was Gary.
Richard parroted the Daily Mail headline about Gary’s comments, which he never said.
The BBC’s sports scheduling subsequently descended into chaos, with Match of the Day going ahead without presenters or pundits after both Ian Wright and Alan Shearer pulled out in “solidarity” with Lineker.
BBC suspension
Three days later, Lineker’s suspension came to an end and the BBC was left with egg on their faces…again.
The former football star calmly put Richard back in his box and explained that his comments were taken, spun out of context and created a media circus.
Lineker shook his head at Madeley’s comment, before replying: “Already you’ve misrepresented what I said, and that’s what happened because of the Daily Mail headline which caused this furore in the first place.
“I didn’t compare the government to the Nazis, I didn’t talk about the Holocaust, I didn’t do any of that. All I said was, some of the language is not dissimilar to that used back in the Thirties in Germany and there is a substantial difference in that.”
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Public broadcaster
Richard said: “‘What would you like to say to these Tory MPs who say that you can be a politician or a public broadcaster, but you can’t be both? Why can’t you be both?'”
Gary replied that “people are entitled to their own opinion but it’s ‘important to use your platform for good.”
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Related: Gary Lineker wins ‘political’ battle with HMRC & Private Eye stat puts argument to bed
