BBC could make U-turn on Gary Lineker suspension as presenter set for return to Match of the Day

Former England striker Gary Lineker could make his stunning return to Match of the Day after his high-profile impartiality row with the BBC.

That is according to BBC director general Tim Davie, who has insisted that the UK state broadcaster is “working very hard to resolve the situation” involving Lineker.

Lineker was suspended by the BBC and pulled from his Match of the Day presenting role after he publicly criticised the UK government’s divisive asylum policy in a tweet.

The 62-year-old English presenter took aim at the government’s Illegal Migration Bill and called it an “immeasurably cruel policy,” with Lineker making reference to “Germany in the ‘30s.”

Lineker tweeted at the time: “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?”

Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, both of whom are regulars on Match of the Day, confirmed they would not feature on BBC’s flagship show after Lineker’s suspension.

BBC was forced into making late changes for Saturday’s edition of Match of the Day, which was reduced to a 20-minute show featuring only highlights from the Premier League matches.

The BBC confirmed in a statement that it had made the decision for Lineker to “step back from presenting” until an “agreed and clear position on his use of social media” had been reached.

Now, Davie has claimed that the BBC had endured a “difficult day,” but he insisted that the corporation is “working very hard to resolve the situation.”

And the BBC director general, who was appointed to the post in 2020, revealed that he is keen to see Lineker return to his position as Match of the Day host.

“[…] Success for me is getting Gary back on air and together we are giving to the audiences that world-class sports coverage which, as I say, I’m sorry we haven’t been able to deliver today,” Davie told the BBC.

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