O/T Gary Lineker

[Jammy89]

He was encouraged to talk about Qatari politics before the world cup, by the same organisation who now tell him not to be political.

This is my big issue.

It has to be equal ruling. If Lineker is going to be pulled up then Sir Alan Sugar needs to be to.

[ronandtet]

i think it's a case of "who doth protest the most" if controversy passes with no fuss the beeb will ignore it

[Kal]

I'm sure Gary would accuse himself of being Male Pale and Stale if he didn't tan well and was racially abused for it (what the actual f*ck) and move on to let some diverse representation take his place on MOTD.

He's a f*cking weasel imo.

[toptoon]

Another issue is whether there is anything in his contract about this.
Overall I’m pleased to see the BBC trying to be impartial. The hidden social agenda in the organization has lost it a lot of respect and turned it into a bit of a joke tbh.

[Xamand]

There are a number of issues in this story imo.

Firstly, as a private individual posting on his private twitter account he can say what he wants, whether others agree with it or not. He's not even an employee of the BBC, though in that regard I think he should be - I am not a fan of this mode of employment - basically tax dodging imo. The only issue he has is what his contract with the BBC specifically states he can do on his personal social media accounts, if it does even say anything and if it does whether it is even legally enforceable.

Regarding the BBC itself - it is supposed to be separate from the government in regards to what it can say and do but of late this has not been the case and there has been a lot of government/political interference - eg the pulling of one of the episodes of David Attenborough's new series from airing because it might upset the tories and the Telegraph.

In regard to his tweet itself - personally if I was in his position I probably wouldn't have said it - it was always going to cause controversy. However, he is not wrong, especially as he specifically mentioned 1930s Germany, not (insert political name here because I am not sure it is banned) Germany, wartime Germany and definitely not post Wandsee conference Germany. 1930s Germany was a period of nasty rhetoric and harassment, sometimes fairly extreme, but not the killing that came later. So a pretty accurate comparison to make though still not a can of worms I would have opened.

Finally, France isn't that bad, which is why the vast majority of refugees and asylum seekers that enter France stay in France. The numbers coming to the UK are tiny compared to the numbers going elsewhere such as France, Spain, Italy or Greece and barely register compared to the numbers going to Turkey. This claim that they are all trying to enter/"invade" the UK is nonsense and is the kind of dangerous propaganda that is Lineker's tweet is referring to.

[MidsMagpie]

I fully support the bbc for once and its hilarious all the other bbc cronies walking out in support of him, he has been warned numerous times about his political tweets so its not like it wasnt coming.

[coastferret]

There are a number of issues in this story imo.

Firstly, as a private individual posting on his private twitter account he can say what he wants, whether others agree with it or not. He's not even an employee of the BBC, though in that regard I think he should be - I am not a fan of this mode of employment - basically tax dodging imo. The only issue he has is what his contract with the BBC specifically states he can do on his personal social media accounts, if it does even say anything and if it does whether it is even legally enforceable.

Regarding the BBC itself - it is supposed to be separate from the government in regards to what it can say and do but of late this has not been the case and there has been a lot of government/political interference - eg the pulling of one of the episodes of David Attenborough's new series from airing because it might upset the tories and the Telegraph.

In regard to his tweet itself - personally if I was in his position I probably wouldn't have said it - it was always going to cause controversy. However, he is not wrong, especially as he specifically mentioned 1930s Germany, not (insert political name here because I am not sure it is banned) Germany, wartime Germany and definitely not post Wandsee conference Germany. 1930s Germany was a period of nasty rhetoric and harassment, sometimes fairly extreme, but not the killing that came later. So a pretty accurate comparison to make though still not a can of worms I would have opened.

Finally, France isn't that bad, which is why the vast majority of refugees and asylum seekers that enter France stay in France. The numbers coming to the UK are tiny compared to the numbers going elsewhere such as France, Spain, Italy or Greece and barely register compared to the numbers going to Turkey. This claim that they are all trying to enter/"invade" the UK is nonsense and is the kind of dangerous propaganda that is Lineker's tweet is referring to.

Bang on the money for me

[Zippity]

Bang on the money for me

Yep, absolutely spot on.

[jacapus]

By all means have the freedom to express your views but to compare it to the Nazis is unacceptable.

[ex_pat_magpie]

By all means have the freedom to express your views but to compare it to the Nazis is unacceptable.

He didn't compare it to the Nazis, he compared it to the Nazi rhetoric of the time, pre war 30's and nothing at all to do with the holocaust as many trouble makers, especially in Whitehall, have been trying to infer.