Gary Lineker has challenged Twitter boss Elon Musk over a threatening message sent to his son in the wake of the TV presenter’s row with the BBC.
The Match Of The Day (MOTD) host – who was reinstated on Monday – tweeted a screenshot of a private message sent by a user describing his eldest son, George, as having a ‘mug’ that was to be ‘burned at the stake’ for defending his father.
Lineker wrote with the image: “Is @Twitter @elonmusk acceptable? And I don’t mean grammar.”
Earlier in the day, George had tweeted: ‘Social media isn’t crazy. Over the past few days, on insta – I’ve never received so many great messages. On twitter – I’ve never received so much abuse.
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Lineker has been suspended by the BBC for his tweets criticizing the government’s migration policy.
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What are the BBC’s impartiality rules?
That’s how it is now has agreed to bring the former England footballer back on the air this weekend, with BBC director-general Tim Davie denying it was a downsizing by the company.
An independent review will now look into its social media usage guidelines.
However, some Conservative MPs are furious at the decision, saying it allows Lineker “carte blanche” to say what he likes on social media, despite Davie insisting until the review is published, the presenter will “comply with editorial guidelines”.
Lineker She has since resumed tweeting about the plight of refugees, writing, “As difficult as the past few days have been, it simply doesn’t compare to having to flee home from persecution or war to seek refuge in a distant land.”
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The BBC did ‘the right thing’ about the Lineker quarrel
The 62-year-old also thanked his fellow presenters and pundits for their “amazing show of solidarity” after a number of BBC shows were pulled over the weekend.
In response to his father’s messages, George tweeted a goat emoji, often used to mean GOAT, which means greatest of all time for sportsmen. He later wrote, “Nice work Gaz.”
Lineker was interrupted over a tweet comparing the language used to launch a new government policy on asylum seekers to that of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
To know more:
Gary Lineker tweets again about refugees as BBC bosses say he’ll be back on air this weekend
Gary Lineker’s row ‘goes straight to the heart’ of the BBC’s reputation, Ofcom boss says
Football coverage on BBC TV and radio was affected when pundits, presenters and journalists – including Alan Shearer, Ian Wright and Alex Scott – joined a strike.
The BBC subsequently apologized and reinstated Lineker as MOTD presenter.
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In a statement yesterday, Mr Davie said: “Everyone recognizes that this has been a difficult time for staff, contributors, presenters and most importantly our audience. I apologize for that.
“The potential confusion caused by the gray areas of the BBC’s social media guidance introduced in 2020 is recognised. I want the issues resolved and our sports content back on the air.”
