WITH british parliament prepare to start discussions on the government bill on Monday Tori For migratorya law about which the UN and international organizations have expressed serious concern, Britannia spends the weekend discussing his decision BBC “freeze” his collaboration with the former footballer and presenter for decades Gary Linekerfor comments he made against the bill as the case takes on political dimensions and a potential crisis for the British public broadcaster.

Lineker, former England captain and host of “the most famous football show in the world” for the past 20 years, Match of the dayas the BBC itself describes it, was taken “off the air” after criticizing immigration policies promoted by the conservative Conservative government.

The British government last week introduced a bill to combat illegal immigration, which is mainly aimed at forbidden those who arrive across the English Channel in they apply for asylum in Britainfound something in limits of international lawhowever, the UN and many international organizations express their concerns about the proposed law.

yesterday friday, UK and France signed a new deal to combat illegal immigration from French shores with increased UK funding over the next three years, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron after the summit in Paris.

A British broadcaster has penalized the 62-year-old former footballer, who has been on microphones and screens since 1999, and the BBC’s highest paid presenter, for tweeting and retweeting tweets critical of the bill.

One of the posts mentioned barbaric policy towards vulnerable peopleand rhetoric reminiscent of that of politicians and the media in Germany in the 1930s.

Another time, Lineker, who hosted refugees in his home in the pastreposted a post with a video where British Home Secretary Swella Braverman talks about the new lawwith Lineker’s comment: “Oh my God! It’s just awful.”

For the BBC, this was a violation of its principles.

“This is a violation of our internal rules,” the British body said, asking Lineker to “resign” this weekend.

“We never said that Gary should stay in the no-opinion zone or that he couldn’t have opinions on issues that matter to him, but we did say that he should stay away from partisan politics or political disputes. “, he added. BBC.

However, then many famous ex-footballers, commentators and hosts of football talk shows decided not appear on the state broadcaster in solidarity with Lineker.

Famous former football players Alan Shearer and Ian Wright said they would not appear on Match of the Day, “the oldest television football show in the world,” according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The row with Lineker caused major problems for the BBC sports programme, as many of the presenters did not participate in the show of solidarity with Lineker, resulting in a public apology from the British channel. “We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon,” he said in a statement.

The Saturday show “Match of the Day” was scheduled to air at the usual time despite Lineker’s absence.

Sunak issued a statement in defense of his immigration policy, saying he hoped Lineker and the BBC could resolve their differences in a reasonable amount of time.

“It’s their problem, not the government’s,” he said, adding that it’s important to continue to see the right point of view, given the severity of the immigration issue, which has led to 45,000 people put your life in danger by illegally crossing the English Channel last year.

Neutrality under scrutiny

The case led the BBC to defend its impartiality.

The British broadcaster has vowed to be politically impartial but has faced criticism from Tories and Labor for how neutral it actually is, especially in an age of social media that top presenters use to broadcast their private spots.

BBC CEO, Tim Daveyrevealed the plan of impartiality 10 points in 2021 after controversy, but none of them in the form of an avalanche like the one that has developed since yesterday. Today he even announced that he would not resign because of the Lineker affair.

Opposition Labor Party and media commentators accuse the BBC of silencing Lineker by succumbing to pressure from the Conservative government after Sunak’s spokeswoman called Lineker’s comments “unacceptable” and the Home Secretary Suella Braverman he said they were “offensive”.

“The BBC does not act impartially by pandering to Conservative MPs who complain about Gary Lineker,” the Labor leader said. Keir Starmer reporters at a conference in Wales.

Lineker declined to comment to the media as he left his London home and did not answer questions from reporters upon his arrival in London. King Power Stadium to Leicester, where he went to watch a match of one of the clubs he played for.

In an effort to resolve the dispute, the BBC said there must be an agreed position on Lineker’s use of social media before he can return as presenter.

The BBC said it had held talks with Lineker and his team in recent days and had decided to withdraw from presenting Match of the Day “until we have an agreed and clear position on the use of social media”.

But critics of Lineker’s suspension say he is entitled to his own opinion because he is not a news anchor.

OUR Greg Dykewho was CEO of the BBC from 2000 to 2004, told BBC Radio that the British broadcaster made a mistake by taking Lineker “off the air” because it gave the impression that the government could tell the broadcaster what to do.

“It would appear that Gary Lineker, a well-loved broadcaster, was fired due to pressure from the government on a specific issue,” he said.

This could put viewers off the 100-year-old BBC, which is funded by a £159 annual license tax on all households that watch TV.

While the broadcaster continues to play a central role in British cultural life, it is struggling to keep in touch with a younger audience and is facing threats to its funding as some Conservative MPs want to eliminate the license fee.

Questions about the chairman of the BBC, Richard Sharprepresent an additional challenge for the broadcaster.

Sharp has been criticized for not disclosing his involvement in providing a loan to the former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson shortly before his appointment to this position.

Sharpe’s appointment, which came at the recommendation of the government, is currently under review by the UK Public Appointments Watch.

Reuters-AFP-dpa