Gary Lineker sent a pointed message just before his return to BBC screens after last week's Match of the Day drama.
The former England striker was absent from last week's broadcast of Match of the Day following controversy regarding his tweets on non-football matters. A number of other presenters and pundits ruled themselves out of appearing on the show, including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.
Lineker's return was confirmed shortly after the BBC ran with a significantly shortened broadcast of the Saturday evening show, with the host back in the studio for the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley. "Ah the joys of being allowed to stick to football," he wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo from the Etihad Stadium. A second photo captioned with the caption "teammates" showed Lineker in the studio next to Micah Richards and Shearer.
On Friday night, Lineker said that his support from colleagues has been “hugely gratifying” and “quite beautiful”. Saturday will mark the 62-year-old broadcaster’s first appearance on the BBC since he was told to step back from hosting Match of the Day in a row over impartiality.
Lineker was taken off air last week for a tweet comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum seeker policy with 1930s Germany. When asked by LaLiga Sports TV about how his week has been on Friday, the former England striker said: “Really quiet. Nothing much going on. You could say it’s been an interesting week but I’m still here, still punching.
“It was interesting and also hugely gratifying, I had an amazing amount of support from my friends and colleagues which was quite beautiful actually.
What have you made of the Lineker drama? Have your say in the comments section.
“It was totally disproportionate the whole thing but we’re OK. It’s resolved, I’m relieved, I’m back to work tomorrow and all is well with the world.”
He will present live BBC coverage, with analysis from Shearer and Richards, on Saturday afternoon while Mark Chapman is due to host the Match of the Day highlights show later on Saturday night. Many of Lineker’s BBC Sport colleagues walked out in “solidarity” last weekend, with highlight shows significantly shorter than usual and aired without presentation or commentary.
Match of the Day aired for only 20 minutes last Saturday without accompanying commentary or analysis from presenters, with Sunday’s edition following a similar format and running for just 15 minutes.
BBC director-general Tim Davie said in a statement the corporation has commissioned an independent review of its social media guidelines, particularly for freelancers.
Mr Davie apologised for what he acknowledged had been “a difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences” and described the BBC’s commitment to freedom of expression and impartiality as a “difficult balancing act”.
He added: “The potential confusion caused by the grey areas of the BBC’s social media guidance that was introduced in 2020 is recognised. I want to get matters resolved and our sport content back on air.”
