damo666 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:46 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:23 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 3:31 pm

For our non-British audience, Gary Lineker is a man who is given over a million pounds of the British public's money every year for having a head that vaguely resembles the FA Cup.

Haha. Harsh. He is an excellent presenter and was a legend in the game during his playing career.

For our non-British audience, I am making reference to Gary Lineker, a former footballer who is now one of the UK's most recognisable football journalists, and who presents the flagship Saturday evening football programme "Match of the Day". However, he will not be presenting it tonight because of a tweet he posted earlier this week, criticising the UK Government's latest anti-immigration policy (featuring proposed legislation which will breach the UK's international treaty obligations). The BBC have suspended him for this tweet. In solidarity, many other BBC sports pundits and presenters have temporarily resigned or are refusing to appear on BBC sports coverage unless Lineker is re-instated.

So there we are, now you know.

And his ears do not resemble the handles on the FA Cup.

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:35 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:02 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:23 pm

Haha. Harsh. He is an excellent presenter and was a legend in the game during his playing career.

For our non-British audience, I am making reference to Gary Lineker, a former footballer who is now one of the UK's most recognisable football journalists, and who presents the flagship Saturday evening football programme "Match of the Day". However, he will not be presenting it tonight because of a tweet he posted earlier this week, criticising the UK Government's latest anti-immigration policy (featuring proposed legislation which will breach the UK's international treaty obligations). The BBC have suspended him for this tweet. In solidarity, many other BBC sports pundits and presenters have temporarily resigned or are refusing to appear on BBC sports coverage unless Lineker is re-instated.

So there we are, now you know.

There are a few things we don't know. Rather a lot of companies, for example, include in their contract of employment a social media policy. Whilst I worked at the Environment Agency, for example, I was not allowed to make any posts like Gary's on any social media account where my profession was known. It's easy enough for me to keep my personal opinions entirely separate from my work, but for Gary it is impossible for obvious reasons.

If he has broken his contract (after what one can imagine are multiple warnings from previous actions) then a suspension is perfectly justifiable. Whether or not it is wise of the BBC to do so, or whether it is at all desirable that such terms in contracts can exist, are other matters entirely

Oddly, during the Brexit referendum campaign, Gary Lineker campaigned for a "remain" vote. He then publicly backed the "People's Vote" campaign in 2018.

In response to this, in 2018, the BBC made a statement which said:

"Gary is not involved in news or political output for the BBC and, as such, any expression of his personal political views does not affect the BBC's impartiality".

In that context their current position seems odd.

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:02 pm

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:23 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 3:31 pm

For our non-British audience, Gary Lineker is a man who is given over a million pounds of the British public's money every year for having a head that vaguely resembles the FA Cup.

Haha. Harsh. He is an excellent presenter and was a legend in the game during his playing career.

For our non-British audience, I am making reference to Gary Lineker, a former footballer who is now one of the UK's most recognisable football journalists, and who presents the flagship Saturday evening football programme "Match of the Day". However, he will not be presenting it tonight because of a tweet he posted earlier this week, criticising the UK Government's latest anti-immigration policy (featuring proposed legislation which will breach the UK's international treaty obligations). The BBC have suspended him for this tweet. In solidarity, many other BBC sports pundits and presenters have temporarily resigned or are refusing to appear on BBC sports coverage unless Lineker is re-instated.

So there we are, now you know.

There are a few things we don't know. Rather a lot of companies, for example, include in their contract of employment a social media policy. Whilst I worked at the Environment Agency, for example, I was not allowed to make any posts like Gary's on any social media account where my profession was known. It's easy enough for me to keep my personal opinions entirely separate from my work, but for Gary it is impossible for obvious reasons.

If he has broken his contract (after what one can imagine are multiple warnings from previous actions) then a suspension is perfectly justifiable. Whether or not it is wise of the BBC to do so, or whether it is at all desirable that such terms in contracts can exist, are other matters entirely

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:23 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 3:31 pm

For our non-British audience, Gary Lineker is a man who is given over a million pounds of the British public's money every year for having a head that vaguely resembles the FA Cup.

Haha. Harsh. He is an excellent presenter and was a legend in the game during his playing career.

For our non-British audience, I am making reference to Gary Lineker, a former footballer who is now one of the UK's most recognisable football journalists, and who presents the flagship Saturday evening football programme "Match of the Day". However, he will not be presenting it tonight because of a tweet he posted earlier this week, criticising the UK Government's latest anti-immigration policy (featuring proposed legislation which will breach the UK's international treaty obligations). The BBC have suspended him for this tweet. In solidarity, many other BBC sports pundits and presenters have temporarily resigned or are refusing to appear on BBC sports coverage unless Lineker is re-instated.

So there we are, now you know.

Jamiet99uk wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:23 pm

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 3:31 pm

For our non-British audience, Gary Lineker is a man who is given over a million pounds of the British public's money every year for having a head that vaguely resembles the FA Cup.

Haha. Harsh. He is an excellent presenter and was a legend in the game during his playing career.

For our non-British audience, I am making reference to Gary Lineker, a former footballer who is now one of the UK's most recognisable football journalists, and who presents the flagship Saturday evening football programme "Match of the Day". However, he will not be presenting it tonight because of a tweet he posted earlier this week, criticising the UK Government's latest anti-immigration policy (featuring proposed legislation which will breach the UK's international treaty obligations). The BBC have suspended him for this tweet. In solidarity, many other BBC sports pundits and presenters have temporarily resigned or are refusing to appear on BBC sports coverage unless Lineker is re-instated.

So there we are, now you know.

Octavious wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 11, 2023 3:31 pm

For our non-British audience, Gary Lineker is a man who is given over a million pounds of the British public's money every year for having a head that vaguely resembles the FA Cup.

dargorygel wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:25 pm

I should lock this post, and ban the so-called author.