Gary Lineker big brass balls?

I don’t understand why the BBC have got themselves in such a mess over Lineker.

I agree, I think the only difference to Hislop etc is the concerted campaign by both ministers and the right wing press to make an example of Lineker.

The tories are out to define the next GE as being all about immigration and little else for obvious reasons. A last desperate act to remain in power with not a regard to any harm caused to the country.

They really are lower than rats.

I thought that was likely Kimbers.

Another problem could be that the BBC could find themselves in breech of contract and in conflict with The Premier League.

They really haven’t thought this through have they.

I don’t understand why the BBC have got themselves in such a mess over Lineker.

Because he’s really got under the skin of what passes for a government nowadays, and their recently appointed lackeys now run the BBC

They really are lower than rats vermin. 😉

lower than a snakes belly actually.

cancel culture snowflakes

Sugar was busy slagging Corbyn off at the last GE, whilst appearing on the Apprentice. But that’s OK because it supported the government.

And eight months earlier he was calling for Boris Johnson to be jailed, frankly he is all over the place, I think he might be related to someone on here.

there was a tweet from GL “Bin Corbyn” in 2017 I don’t remember him being dragged over the coals and stern talking too about his responsibility to impartiality

Newsnight covered the topic [barely] tonight and couldn’t wait to get the segment over with. You could almost hear the director screaming “wrap it up, wrap it up” into the presenters earpiece.

Russia Today could hardly have done a better job..

With a bit of luck the ITV rugby commentary team will strike in sympathy tomorrow.

colp’s link basically exonerates Lineker from any wrongdoing, the BBC have essentially given him permission publicly to air his views as long as it’s done in a personal capacity.

This has the potential to completely destroy the network of allies the govt have placed in the BBC thinking they can control it. Be interesting to see the way the papers report it over the weekend.

When the BBC back down and offer an apology the right wing grifters and press are going to implode with rage, can’t wait.

When the BBC back down and offer an apology the right wing grifters and press are going to implode with rage, can’t wait.

The cycle goes on and on and on …

In this instance the brand isn’t actually the BBC, it’s the Premier League. The BBC is merely the host broadcaster.

This has been covered earlier when others have pointed out that GL is not an employee of the BBC but is in effect, subcontracted but it would be interesting to see how the PL react to all this. They’ve been quiet so far but they must be absolutely fuming that the highlights will be shown without punditry and perhaps even more significantly, without commentary. If the commentators withdraw their labour then it silences those who say they hate the punditry and would rather just watch the football.

And then the questions will start about MOTD2 24 hours later… Still, I’m sure the crowds will chip in with their own commentary but the sound engineer could be busy with the mute button.

I agree, I think the only difference to Hislop etc is the concerted campaign by both ministers and the right wing press to make an example of Lineker.

Hislop can kick back to an extent he probably knows where all the skeletons are buried.

Still, I’m sure the crowds will chip in with their own commentary but the sound engineer could be busy with the mute button

Yep… there’s going to some interesting chants this weekend 😂

This is a nothing but a cyincal yet effective media strategy to regain control over the narrative, pivoting it away from systemic problems in which the Tories are utterly hopeless and inept, either through their own incompetence, negligence and corruption, to something which they can do better than Labour: overt, base, racism and scapegoating. Forget the crumbling NHS, the fact in a supposedly wealthy economy people die becasue they are unable to get an ambulance, forget the foodbanks, the endemic corruption, the excess deaths, the expensive ongoing joke we call privitisation, the so-called “living crisis”, the list goes on ad nauseam.

This is a nothing but a cyincal yet effective media strategy to regain control over the narrative

What do you call ‘effective’?

The very latest opinion poll which was conducted yesterday and today gives Labour a 24% lead.

I don’t understand why the BBC have got themselves in such a mess over Lineker.

I agree, I think the only difference to Hislop etc is the concerted campaign by both ministers and the right wing press to make an example of Lineker.

The tories are out to define the next GE as being all about immigration and little else for obvious reasons. A last desperate act to remain in power with not a regard to any harm caused to the country.

They really are lower than rats.

Yes but this really is the Streisand effect in action as others have noted.

By flexing their media muscles and escalating a personal tweet to the point where a media personality with pretty much “national treasure” status in many minds is facing discipline/possible sacking they’re just drawing more attention to the fact that they’re behaving a bit like Nazis (the one word everyone in the press and parliament seems keen to avoid using)…

He’s gotten under their skin in a way SKS, the rest of Labour or indeed most other left leaning press never could, mainly I think, because Gary has a higher media profile and and no real political skin in the game. It’s almost more who Linekar is than what he Tweeted.

This is the right trying to do the thing they claim lefty woke types love and “cancel” someone with an opposing view who’s called them out for what they are. And it’s backfiring spectacularly. It’s just making them look like thin skinned, bullying fascists (because they are). It’s part of Boris’ legacy the installation of one of their own in charge of the beeb to try and turn it into another propaganda channel by outlawing criticism under the banner of “balance”, but it’s simply too obvious…

I’m not so sure Cruella had No.10s blessing to go after Gary either, suggesting the centre isn’t going to hold for much longer, and the headbangers He thought he had on a leash are probably going to turn on him again before he can rally for the GE…

I wonder if the BBC could just hand back the keys early before the contract comes up for renewal, like Stagecoach / First Group and the like do with the rail operating contracts?

I’m sure ITV would love to pick up the pieces and offer GL a new contract to boot.

Effective in that it gets the actual problems off the front pages.

I think the current media storm rather proves it.

Concentrate on the issue.

Was what Gary (terrible English football type – I’m a Scots rugby type) said reasonable?

Yes

End of controversy if not conversation.  The current government are a bit ominous.

MOTD has been on since the dawn of time on a Saturday night on BBC 1. If you don’t want to see the results then look away now, but this is the first time it will go ahead (if it does) with no presenters or pundits.

So what happens next week? And the week after? It’s clear no presenters or pundits are going to touch it with a barge pole

I’m sure the powers that be will presently be reading the small print on contracts. And there will be plenty

The BBC may be looking at the end of their Premier League highlights deal here unless they sort this, sharpish!

Just something else to add to the ever extending list of things the Tories have ruined

weird isn’t it – last person to tie the government in knots was Marcus Rashford. You’d think they might’ve learned something there

Effective in that it gets the actual problems off the front pages.

Well personally I think the Tories probably have more problems now than they had before all this kicked off.

They obviously thought everyone would be discussing their brilliant and yet strangely illegal immigration bill and that Labour would not oppose it too strongly lest they be seen to be soft on criminals and illegal immigration.

But instead of the media talking about it and the successful trip Rishi Sunak made to France today it has been completely overshadowed by the opinions of a football pundit.

Plus bearing in mind that the ultimate goal is obviously to boost support for the Tories I can’t see the latest opinion poll to be much cause for celebration.

The whole thing could just be a way of proving he’s not an employee / in the control of the BBC for the purposes of the £5m IR35 tax dispute with HMRC.

The timing is too much of a coincidence – the first tier tax tribunal hearing took place last week.

The BBC may be looking at the end of their Premier League highlights deal here unless they sort this, sharpish!

Minor loss but nothing significant. Not even full match shown (live). Besides, all highlights are available on Youtube.

If Premier League go head to head with BBC, I think Premier League will lose out and will probably have to sell their highlights rights to the higher bidder from Middle Eastern investors whoever they are. For those that wish to watch the highlights will probably have to pay and that’s what I might call own goal.

The timing is too much of a coincidence

There is no coincidence. Lineker’s tweet was careful timed to respond to the government’s announcement of a clampdown on those seeking asylum.

An interesting take.

Always worth remembering that their ‘absolute’ aim is to make you hate the BBC so they can manipulate public apathy into a workable path to privatisation. It’s working ? so far. In football terms, the current situ is shitty ownership. Don’t jettison your club. Once it’s gone..

— chris o'dowd (@BigBoyler) March 11, 2023

For all the left whining about the right and the right whining about the left, who within the BBC is actually in control and making decisions here?

who within the BBC is actually in control and making decisions here?

Richard Sharp, formerly of Goldman Sachs, Tory party donor, appointed by and mate of Boris Johnson, who facilitated an 800 grand loan to the flytipped sofa

Interesting take indeed Cougar but the BBC in it’s current state is already broken. It comes to something when Sky News does a better job of holding the Government to account than the National Broadcaster.

Whilst I agree that the Government has for some time had a strategy for grinding the BBC down to a point where the remnants can be sold off to their mates I think this time they might have bitten off more than they can chew.

“who within the BBC is actually in control and making decisions here?”

As the union rep who did the rounds on TV this evening pointed out, this is the most important question and could / should lead to an inquiry. This might offer an opportunity to arrest the decline and remodel the BBC as fit for purpose. The public doesn’t share the same deep down hatred for the Beeb that the Tories do and that, rather like football is something this bunch of public school twits masquerading as a government simply fail to grasp.

The whole thing could just be a way of proving he’s not an employee / in the control of the BBC for the purposes of the £5m IR35 tax dispute with HMRC.

What a daft comment

Lineker never shied away from stating his opinion before and his contract will not change because of it

This Government should always know there’s a tweet to be found, this one is especially entertaining

Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith: It was wrong of Gary Lineker to compare us to the Nazis.

Also Clarke-Smith:#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/3x8RXU2RXT

— Elwyn Davies (@TheRealElwynD) March 10, 2023

Ian Wright said today, on his podcast, that he won’t work for the BBC again if GL was sacked.

I don’t think he is brave enough to do what he said.

In fairness to Ian, I might have mis-quoted him. His comment might have been about MOTD rather than the BBC in general.

Motd will still run but with no presenters / pundits and cameras will only pick up players on the right wing..

Concentrate on the issue.

Was what Gary (terrible English football type – I’m a Scots rugby type) said reasonable?

Yes

End of controversy if not conversation. The current government are a bit ominous.

If I was in charge of a newspaper I would be planning to run a Sunday edition with the headline “Does Lineker have a point?” followed by pages and pages of proper analysis by historians of how the Nazis manipulated the electorate throughout the 30’s and comparing each step to what the current govt are doing. No mention of WW2 or the Holocaust, that all happened in the 40’s and bringing that into it would play intit Rh hands of Braverman who completely misread the original tweet and it’s warning. The tweet would start the story but the govt’s actions would be the focus throughout and it would not be pretty. This would hopefully turn the focus away from Lineker and onto what is actually happening but there is no newspaper that is brave enough to do this right now, which is a worry in itself.

Concentrate on the issue.

Was what Gary (terrible English football type – I’m a Scots rugby type) said reasonable?

Yes

End of controversy if not conversation. The current government are a bit ominous.

It is also very simple to sort out. What does the contract between Linker and BBC contain around social media (very easy for BBC to check). If he is in breach of that then end contract, if not then carry on as you were and he can continue to tweet whatever he likes as long as it is not in breach of whatever it states in his contract.

If the nazi’s don’t like what he is saying that is not a BBC issue (based on contract as above)

Interestingly sports journalists seam to be reporting the background politics of the situation far far better than the political analysts. I suspect because they aren’t part of the oxbridge PPE educated conveyor belt supply line into the Westminster bubble that they actually look at it from a better perspective.

From what I have seen, for the usual Westminster bubble reporters it is all about GL and the BBC’s claimed impartiality. In the sports reports I have seen much more mention of the actual immigration policy and the condemnation from the UN and human rights groups.

I really hope that any further protests (refusals to do interviews with the BBC etc) make the point of supporting the plight of refugees and opposing government censorship rather than just supporting GL.

Agreed MSP.

I dont see GL backing down, the BBC has a bit of thinking to do.