Gary Lineker clashed with GMB host Richard Madeley this morning as the Match of the Day host spoke about the tweet that saw him temporarily stand down from presenting the flagship BBC sports show. Lineker, who was taken off the BBC for days after tweeting that language used by the Government about immigration was 'not dissimilar' to language used in 1930s Germany said Madeley had 'misrepresented him'.
Madeley said Lineker, who was on GMB to promote the new series of his quiz show, had compared the Government to the Nazis.
Lineker replied: "You've misrepresented what I said, and that's what happened because of the Daily Mail headline which caused this furor in the first place."
He said: "I didn't compare the Government to the Nazis," adding that he said: "I was talking about some of the language that is not dissimilar."
Lineker said: "All I was trying to say is, we can use kinder language."
Talking about the situation that saw him off air Lineker added: "It was a very disproportionate story and kind of bonkers for a while."
He concluded: "I think it's really important if you've got a big platform to try and use it."
Madeley said he had defended Lineker's right to say what he wants, while disagreeing with what he said. He asked Lineker if he would change what he said, or if he regretted it.
Viewers weren't happy with Richard's take. Norfolk_Kez said on Twitter: "I bet Gary Lineker isn’t going to tweet what he was thinking after that interview; ‘Richard is a complete €$+*>’ #GMB "
Ric Ricardo added: "Richard Madeley , the ITV tory mouth piece grilling Gary Lineker, this morning, pity he never grills the Tory Ministers that appear on GMTV shocking Lineker was not on this morning for tweets he made, yet RM made a huge point about them. Well done Gary you won."
Debbie King added: "Richard was painful in the Gary Lineker interview… seriously seriously painful"
Gary Lineker will receive a ‘Sport and Human Rights’ award at a ceremony in Rome next week.
The former England striker, who is the BBC’s lead football presenter, is described as a “staunch advocate for the rights of refugees and migrants” in a release confirming the award from human rights organisation Amnesty International.
Lineker was taken off air by the broadcaster in March after posting a tweet in which he said the language used by the Government to promote its asylum plans was not dissimilar to 1930s Germany.
He later returned to his Match Of The Day presenting role following a boycott by top on-air talent.
The ‘Sport and Human Rights’ award, now in its fifth year, is part of a collaboration between Amnesty International and the Italian organisation Sport4Society, and is designed to highlight outstanding contributions to human rights in the field of sport.
