Morgan brands BBC 'spineless' over Lineker decision, calls for Attenborough to be suspended

Piers Morgan has leapt to the defence of Gary Lineker after the BBC confirmed the Match of the Day host will step away from the role due to an ongoing dispute over social media.

The BBC announced on Friday that Lineker would step back from presenting the programme until an agreement had been reached over his social media use.

It follows an impartiality row over comments he made on Twitter criticising the government's new asylum policy.

Responding to a video on Home Secretary Suella Braverman's Twitter profile, in which she unveiled government plans to stop small boats from crossing the English Channel, Lineker replied: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful."

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He also compared the language the government used to set out the asylum plans to "that used by Germany in the 30s".

The BBC said it considered Lineker's "recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines" and confirmed he would step away from presenting Match of the Day until an agreement had been reached.

Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright announced that he will boycott Saturday's show in support for Lineker.

He wrote on Twitter: "Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I've told the BBC I won't be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity."

Morgan backs Lineker over BBC dispute

Lineker has also received support from Piers Morgan, who is well known for engaging in passionate debates with the former England international on Twitter.

Retweeting a link to the BBC's statement on Lineker, Morgan posted: "WTF? How pathetically spineless..

"I now demand the BBC suspend every presenter who has made public comment about news or current affairs - starting with Sir David Attenborough and Lord Sugar."

He later tweeted his support for Wright's boycott, commenting: "Good man."

Morgan then added: "REMINDER: BBC management told Gary Lineker to make political statements about Qatar's human rights record at the start of the recent World Cup."

It remains to be seen who will replace Lineker as host for Saturday's show, with Match of the Day 2 presenter Mark Chapman and regular pundits Alex Scott and Jermaine Jenas potential options.

Topics: Gary Lineker, Match Of The Day, Football, Premier League

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan