The BBC is facing a backlash after forcing Gary Lineker to step down from Match of the Day, prompting his colleagues to boycott the programme in solidarity.
The corporation took action after Lineker refused to apologise for posting an inflammatory tweet drawing parallels between the Government’s flagship policy on illegal migrants and the language of Nazi Germany.
He also refused to give assurances that he would refrain from voicing his political opinions in future.
However, the decision to take the BBC’s highest-paid presenter off air plunged the broadcaster into its latest crisis. Critics asked why it had made an example of Lineker while Richard Sharp, the corporation’s chairman, remains in post despite revelations about his role in facilitating an £800,000 loan arrangement for Boris Johnson, the former prime minister.
The second has what to do with the first?
On the one hand, freedom of speech and political opinion. On the other, consequences for same that all those critics cared nothing about when it wasn’t a left-leaning presenter facing them.
What do do, what to do..?
*opens large bag of popcorn*
End the telly tax, and all the extreme-left-wing presenters can say whatever they want and no-one will give a fuck. Win-win all round.
As part of Sir Gary’s (give it time) “negotiations” with HMRC, he has to prove he does not take orders from his, ahem, NOT employer, otherwise he could owe £5,000,000 in tax. The fact that the Beeb would also owe employers NI is never mentioned.
Like all good socialists Gazza and Auntie believe everyone should pay huge amounts of tax.
NB by everyone, they mean you over there…
Note also he has NOT been sacked, merely not presenting it while they decide how far he can go slagging off these far-right fascists that the country, for some unknown reason, keeps electing.
It was OK for him to criticise Quatar’s human rights record, just don’t ask why, if it was a problem, he actually went to the World Cup. He could have commentated from London surely?
I fast forward through his chat on MotD and will be glad to not see his gurning face on the icon for the programme if he does get the push though.
And despite all the talk of ‘impartiality’ Al Beeb has been as biased as fuck for years. Just look at climate change – 28Gate, and Attenbore can say what he likes and distort the facts if it supports the war on humanity.
I’d support getting rid of the licence fee but they’d only give them money from general taxation.
If Lineker wants to compare things to the Nazis, then I’ll point out that every time I read one of his comments, I’m reminded of Hannah Arendt talking about the banality of evil.
BiW,
Lineker wouldn’t last 5 minutes if the BBC was privatised. Crap management would be replaced by people trying to maximise profit and they’d look at a £1m bloke who reads autocue to jabbers about football and can him, or pick from one of the legions of people who would do his job for a quarter of the money or less. You could probably pay someone minimum wage and tell them to make money from endorsements or personal appearances.
I’ve met no-one who even cares about the punditry. If I’m watching the football, I don’t turn it on when the BBC programme starts, I look up the kick-off time on Google and set an alarm for 5 minutes before. Because I don’t care about an hour of inane speculation.
Of course, the demented Potato wades in with support for Lineker and sprays around his now typical and tedious assertions of fascism and right wing bias at the BBC and Government.
“If there are two public figures with profound credibility they are Lineker and Attenborough.”
Yet, there’s not even a yellow card waved in his blog for Lineker’s, ahem, “alleged” tax avoidance arrangements?
Murphy becomes more repellent and cvntish by the day.
Critics asked why it had made an example of Lineker while Richard Sharp, the corporation’s chairman, remains in post despite revelations about his role in facilitating an £800,000 loan arrangement for Boris Johnson, the former prime minister.
“Critics” are talking out of their fundamental orifices… If they did even the merest smidgeon of research they would have discovered that the BBC does not appoint its chairman, it’s a government appointment, and thus cannot sack him.
In recent years the bbc’s financial commitment to the national game has been largely confined to sending vast numbers on first-class jollies to cover overseas tournaments.
With the availability of so many live matches on sky, bt or via slightly less well known methods MOTD (technically match of the previous day) has run its course and should either be put to sleep or re-branded to concentrate on what the bbc really cares about – women’s football.
Meanwhile Lineker, Shearer, Wright, Scott and Uncle Tom Cobley can all go forth and multiply. None of them will be missed.
Expressing your opinion gets you fired. Critisising the government gets you fired. Now then class, what are they among the distinguishing features of? Spud?
In response to the great BF:
It’s worth pointing out this post:
This is fascism in action. Those who disagree with the far-right government and Daily Mail lines are now to be excluded from our state broadcaster.
This is not about impartiality. This is about imposing a singularity of view to support a fascist view of the world – that there are ‘others’ who can be oppressed and that nature is a ‘free gift’ to be abused by a few for profit at cost to us all, and our future.
A post more removed from reality would be very difficult to find. Apparently it isn’t ‘fascist’ to want to confiscate wealth retrospectively or imprison people in their houses for four years, but it is ‘fascist’ to object to people making profoundly insensitive Comparisons between a policy enacted by a democratically elected government and one responsible for the attempted genocide of entire religion.
He really is an odious fat bastard and the embodiment of pure evil
Note that they don’t actually want free speech. They just want people they approve of to be able to speak freely, bugger everyone else. So fuck ’em.
“the decision to take the BBC’s highest-paid presenter off air”.
The BBC’s highest paid presenter basically does one day a week for about nine months of the year. He’s been doing that for 20+ years.
Nice work if you can get it. Or hang on to it.
BBC can go hang. I listened to the Spurs match the other night on 5Live and was subjected to moronic commentary from Uan Dennis and even more idiotic punditry from Chris Sutton. The night before was Lee Dixon who bored me to sleep and thought wistfully of the likes of Peter Jones and Bryon Butler.
I stopped watching MotD years ago because of the tediousness and pomposity of Shearer et al and in 2020 stopped paying my licence fee.
As ever this latest hypocrisy of the Left proves that if they didn’t have double standards they’d have no standards at all.
BraveFart said:
“Of course, the demented Potato wades in with support for Lineker and sprays around his now typical and tedious assertions of fascism and right wing bias at the BBC and Government.”
Didn’t Murphy actually get a blogger sacked from their day job for what they’d written on the blog?
Footy commentary/punditry went downhill after Saint and Greavsie retired, although I used to enjoy the banter from the old Sky reprobates – Paul Merson et al. I seem to recall BBC’s justification for appointing Lineker was because they felt it necessary to broaden their viewer demographic – and he appealed, they believed, to women and children. Lineker’s current fan base remains those children made flesh, having grown, and – despite (or because of) his 62 years, apparently – their mothers.
So presumably all those who are supporting GL likening the current government to the Nazis were also supporting MP Andrew Bridgen when he compared the vaccines to the Holocaust?
I’m finding this all so enjoyable. Is it possible that we could see the back of Gary Lineker, inane footeh reverence and (eventually, because of this) the BBC? That would be a delightful end, so too much to hope for.
.
Didn’t Murphy actually get a blogger sacked from their day job for what they’d written on the blog?
Did he ever say anything about Gina Carano?
RichardT
Yes it was the writer of the Christy Malry blog, another ignominious episode in Murphy’s chequered past, although he denied he provided the person’s name to the employer.
Apologies to Tim, but actual TRUK link provided
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2015/09/03/why-has-fcablog-blocked-me/
“despite revelations about his role”
Precisely. “Revelations”. He didn’t make a song-and-dance about it on bloody Twitter. The crisp-merchant’s crime isn’t supporting some crackpot political party or thinking that government policy resembles that of the National Socialists; it’s saying so publicly.
BBC employees are paid not to voice their political opinions. That’s kind of the point of the thing. So, if all his chums come out in support of him, there’s another option: abolish the licence fee, denationalize it, fund it commercially, and you can say what you please. Your call, folks.
“If there are two public figures with profound credibility they are Lineker and Attenborough.”
Thanks for that. I needed a laugh. Attenborough’s claim to fame is putting snooker on the telly. Meanwhile Prof. David Bellamy, environmental consultant on the Torrey Canyon investigation, founder of the Durham Wildlife Trust, was disappeared for his scepticism of the human origins of warble gloaming. Where was the outrage amongst his colleages over his treatment for voicing what should be a scientific, not a partisan political, opinion?
Jim: Exactly. Although, in fact, there is a difference: Andrew Bridgen, as an MP, is paid to voice his opinions on political matters. As I noted above, BBC employees are paid not to. The ”Yay Gary, boo Bridgen” brigade have it 180° the wrong way round.
I’ve imagined scenarios where the U.S. drops leaflets over Britain. Just random musings of “Nazis banned speech too,” “Ban hate speech, but only from Muslims” or “Nazis ate ham sandwiches, so no more ham allowed.”
We’re forgetting Davis Starkey getting fired for an inadvertent slip in a factually correct statement.
Jug-eared junk food shill and tax evader gets binned for historically illiterate comments about genocide
Anti-semite Corbyn supports his right to make such comments, backed up by Sir Beer Kneeler allegedly leader of the anti-semitic Labour Party
Random has-been footie failures decide to not inflict themselves on viewers
All going very well
“The second has what to do with the first?”
The first is a complaint about Lineker being punished for doing something that chattering class lefties approve of. The second is a complaint about Sharp not being punished for doing something that chattering class lefties disapprove of. The common thread is the assumption that an action should be judged by whether chattering class lefties approve of it.
This is hilarious. Are Rishi and the BBC going to fold to Gary fucking Lineker and the footeh twats? Looks like the question might be is – will Suella Braverman survive?
As an experiment my wife and a chum came into the sitting room for Match of the Day and invited me to give commentaries.
One good line: “That chap on the left for Spurs must be Son, judging by his size and gait, and he’ll score.” Crect.
Another: “Bournemouth aren’t good enough to score twice in this game so this fellow will miss.” Crect.
And so on. What fun! There were hoots of appreciation for “Do grow up, you big jessie”.
I’ll do the whole show for five thou on a Saturday, plus trips back and forth to the studio in a Rolls.
After all, I could hardly understand less about football than Shearer and Wright, and I would be much more entertaining than Lineker.
The “conservative” government must spend hours every day in planning meetings with the only item on the agenda “How can we be more fucking useless?”
BBC 2004 = “Football pundit Rodney Marsh has been fired by Sky Sports for making a joke on air about the tsunami disaster.
The ex-Manchester City striker, 60, joked David Beckham had turned down a move to Newcastle United because of trouble with the “Toon Army in Asia”.
And don’t forget Richard Keys and Andy Gray. Or Big Ron.
Seems that Sky News has standards (whether you agree with them or not) and is bigger than the talking heads……
Hilariously, viewing figures for MotD increased by half a million last night. I wonder if the Beeb will learn any lessons from this?