Gary Lineker has revealed the two topics he is still allowed to tweet about, as he opened up about the agreement he made with the BBC.
The football world was rocked last month when Match of the Day host Lineker was suspended by the BBC after he tweeted his criticism of the government's Illegal Immigration Bill.
Responding to Home Secretary Suella Braverman's announcement of the bill, the former England star tweeted:
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"There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the ’30s, and I'm out of order?"
In response to Lineker's removal from broadcast duties, Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright and dozens of other BBC Sports regulars downed tools in protest.
After stripped-back versions of Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 were broadcast on March 11th and 12th, Lineker and the BBC reached an agreement to end the dispute.
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But Lineker has revealed that despite the agreement, he is still allowed to voide his opinion on two topics close to his heart.
"Climate change and refugees. I wasn’t prepared to back down on that, especially as I felt and still feel that what I tweeted was fair and true," he told Men's Health.
"I wasn’t abusive, I wasn’t saying she [Braverman] was a Nazi. I talked about the use of words like ‘invasion’ and ‘swarms’ and ‘criminals’ and ‘rapists’, which I think we should be very careful about because it has real-life consequences."
Speaking about the whole affair, Lineker explained why he decided to speak out.
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"I’ve worked with refugees’ charities for years. So, when I saw the Suella Braverman film, I said I thought it was pretty awful.
"Then the 'stick to football' people weighed in and I replied to one of them, just saying there was no massive influx, the UK takes far fewer refugees than other European countries, this is a cruel policy, and the language used in the debate reminds us of the debate in Germany in the 1930s. I think that is factually accurate."
While many of his supporters were highly critical of the BBC, Lineker defended the broadcaster and laid the blame with sections of the media.
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"They turn something you’ve said into something you haven’t said and whip it up into a huge row. [...] Then the politicians pile in and the BBC felt they had to do something.
"To be fair to Tim Davie [BBC Director-General], he admitted they had got it wrong and sorted it out. I love the BBC and I was very glad to be back on air and talking about football again.
So, what will Lineker tweet about next? Whatever the topic, he will as ever follow his own set of rules.
"I always think twice. I have three rules: I never tweet if I’ve been drinking, I never tweet if I’m angry, and I always read the tweet back before hitting send. If I have one percent of doubt, I don’t post it."
Featured Image Credit: PA/AlamyTopics: Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, Ian Wright, Match Of The Day, Football
