Celebrities

Piers Morgan waded into Gary Lineker row and actually made a good point

Piers Morgan waded into Gary Lineker row and actually made a good point
Gary Lineker to ‘step back’ from Match Of The Day amid asylum …
content.jwplatform.com

Piers Morgan spent Friday afternoon passionately defending Gary Lineker and other Match of the Day presenters via Twitter, and he actually made a good point.

Morgan, 57, took to his Twitter to share his thoughts on the BBC having Lineker ‘step away’ from MOTD for not being impartial on social media.

Lineker, who has been with MOTD since 1999, was reprimanded by the BBC for condemning the government’s recent small boats bill. The new organisation said Lineker did not follow its editorial guidelines to remind impartial on social media.

The Piers Morgan Uncensored host called the BBC “pathetically spineless” for suspending Lineker and called out some hypocrisy on their part.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

“REMINDER: BBC management told [Gary Lineker] to make political statements about Qatar’s human rights record at the start of the recent World Cup,” Morgan wrote.

Lineker notoriously created controversy online after the BBC aired a segment where they highlighted human rights violations allegations in Qatar before the World Cup began this past year.

Although Qatar had been under scrutiny from multiple news organisations, one could argue that pointing those out was not “impartial” as the BBC requires its broadcasters to be.

As an outspoken free-speech advocate, Morgan has defended those who receive criticism for what they say. In several of his tweets on Friday, Morgan shared quotes and messages about free speech.

“Free speech is the cornerstone of democracy - the moment Britons agree to be told what we’re allowed to say or think, democracy dies,” Morgan wrote.

Other broadcast presenters and news reporters have stepped in to defend Lineker as well.

Several of Lineker’s colleagues have refused to work for MOTD on Saturday to stand in solidarity with the sports pundit. Morgan also praised them for standing with Lineker.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Conversation (0)
x