Ian Wright insists he WON’T appear on Match of the Day on Saturday in a show of ‘solidarity’ to his friend and colleague Gary Lineker after presenter is being made to ‘step back’ from the show by the BBC following ‘Nazi’ tweet controversy
Ian Wright has thrown his support behind Gary Lineker, by refusing to appear on Match of the Day this weekend.
It was confirmed on Friday evening that Lineker will be stepping back from presenting Match of the Day following his tweet comparing the Government’s migration plans to Nazi Germany breached impartiality rules.
The BBC said Lineker would ‘step back’ from presenting the programme until he and his bosses had reached an ‘agreed and clear position’ on his use of social media.
Lineker’s tweet has caused much debate, and in a show of support for his friend and colleague, Match of the Day regular Ian Wright has confirmed he has told the BBC bosses he has chosen not to appear on Saturday night’s show.
Wright said in a tweet: ‘Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.’
Ian Wright will not be appearing on Match of the Day this weekend in support of Gary Lineker
Ian Wright confirmed via Twitter that he’s showing solidarity to his friend Gary Lineker
Lineker and Wright have regularly appear on Match of the Day together as well as podcasts
The former Arsenal and England striker is a regular pundit in the Match of the Day studio alongside Lineker, and the two friends have also collaborated together on several other projects, including a podcast.
Fellow broadcaster Laura Woods, who Wright has worked with on ITV’s football coverage, immediately backed the 59-year-old’s decision to support Lineker by tweeting a trio of applause emojis in response to his stance.
While Gary Neville also welcomed Wright’s call to shun appearing on Match of the Day by replying to the tweet with ‘You’re more than good!’.
There were also replies from Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling who said ‘Well played Wrighty’ and former England goalie Ben Foster, who stated ‘Heck yes Wrighty’.
Upon the news of a Match of the Day without Lineker at the helm, a BBC spokesmen said: ‘The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.
Friends and colleagues of Ian Wright backed his decision to shun Match of the Day this week
Fans will have to get used to not seeing the sight of Gary Lineker on Saturday night for the foreseeable future
‘The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting Match Of The Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.
When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.
We have never said that Gary should be an opinion-free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.’
Lineker is one of the BBC’s highest paid stars, but sparked a huge political row with his tweet earlier this week, where he compared the language used to launch a new government crackdown on migrants arriving across the Channel in small boats to 1930s Germany.
Lineker’s tweet this week that has led to his stepping back from fronting Match of the Day
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