Gary Lineker – latest: ‘Growing confidence’ that presenter will return to host BBC show

Talks between BBC and Gary Lineker are “moving in the right direction” but not all issues have been “fully resolved” at this stage, BBC News reports.

It comes as disruption has entered the second day with Match of the Day 2 to run only 14 minutes with no pundits or commentary.

Former Tory chancellor George Osborne has backed Gary Lineker in the controversy over his comments about Rishi Sunak’s new immigration plan in a major blow to the prime minister.

Mr Osborne backed Mr Lineker, criticising the rhetoric around asylum policy by some in his party.

“Personally I think some of the language used on immigration by some Conservatives – not all – is not acceptable,” he told Channel 4.

The BBC director-general facing calls to resign over the Gary Lineker row is a former Pepsi executive with past experience dealing with controversies at the corporation.

Tim Davie has had a tumultuous week after his decision to suspend Lineker over a tweet about the Government’s asylum policy caused major disruption to the corporation’s sports coverage, as several presenters and reporters withdrew in solidarity with the former England star.

Faced with an open rebellion among the ranks of the corporation’s top sports presenting talent, Mr Davie has already said he wants Lineker “back on air” delivering “world-class sports coverage” together with the BBC.

The presenter’s words were offensive and wrong but the corporation has handled them badly, says The Independent.

George Lineker told The Sunday Mirror: “Dad is a good man, a good human, and I’m proud of him for standing by his word. That’s why he was pulled off the show – because he wouldn’t apologise. But he will always speak up for people who don’t have a voice.

“He is passionate about helping refugee charities – he took in two refugees who he is still in touch with and trying to help.

“It means a lot to him to stand up for people whose only hope is to escape a country with only the clothes on their back. That’s why he’s been so firm.

“Will he go back to Match of the Day? I think so – he loves Match of the Day. But he won’t ever back down on his word.”

Gary Lineker’s son has said he thinks the presenter will return to Match Of The Day – but that he would not “back down on his word”, according to reports.

In an interview with The Sunday Mirror, the former England striker’s eldest son George claimed his father had been “a bit disappointed” by the BBC asking him to step back from hosting Saturday’s Match Of The Day after he compared the language used to launch a new Government asylum seeker policy with 1930s Germany in a tweet.

However, he said Lineker had been “overwhelmed by the support” of fellow pundits who had withdrawn from various BBC sports shows in solidarity with him, particularly his co-presenters Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.

In 2022, Lineker topped the BBC’s highest earners list for the fifth year in a row, taking home £1.35m.

The year before, he was paid £1.36m, having taken a pay cut in 2020 from his previous £1.75m salary. Lineker has presented Match of the Day since 1999, making him the show’s longest running presenter.

BBC chairman Richard Sharp is facing growing pressure to resign as the corporation’s policy on impartiality has been challenged after Gary Lineker was told to stand down from presenting Match Of The Day.

Mr Sharp, who was appointed chairman in February 2021, has been embroiled in a cronyism row over helping former prime minister Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan facility in recent months.

An investigation is being undertaken into his appointment but he now faces renewed scrutiny as his position has been brought into question amid the backlash against the BBC’s decision to take Lineker off air for comparing language used to launch a new Government asylum seeker policy with 1930s Germany in a tweet.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell both questioned Mr Sharp’s position in light of the Lineker row.

Ms Reeves said on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “He is still in his job. Gary Lineker isn’t able to present the football commentary?”

She added: “The Tories obviously put a huge amount of pressure on the Government to get rid of Gary Lineker, I don’t remember those same Tory MPs crying about impartiality when those revelations about Richard Sharp came out.”

Ms Powell wrote to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to demand that Mr Sharp’s position is “urgently clarified”, saying his involvement in arranging an £800,000 loan facility for Mr Johnson has “profoundly damaged the perception of the BBC’s impartiality and independence from government”.

She added in her letter: “As the ultimate arbiter of these matters, Richard Sharp’s position, which was already increasingly untenable, needs to be urgently clarified.

“He is the one who should be giving staff, viewers and complainants the confidence that the organisation has acted proportionately and fairly. He is totally unable to perform this function.”

She also asked the minister to clarify when the investigation into Mr Sharp’s appointment would be completed.

The BBC director-general facing calls to resign over the Gary Lineker row is a former Pepsi executive with past experience dealing with controversies at the corporation.

Tim Davie has had a tumultuous week after his decision to suspend Lineker over a tweet about the Government’s asylum policy caused major disruption to the corporation’s sports coverage, as several presenters and reporters withdrew in solidarity with the former England star.

Faced with open rebellion among the ranks of the corporation’s top sports presenting talent, Mr Davie has already said he wants Lineker “back on air” delivering “world-class sports coverage” together with the BBC.