Gary Lineker news: Match of the Day star says ‘great to be here’ as he returns to BBC

Alan Shearer has been given the bulk of responsibility for handling last week’s controversy game of the day Continue without moderators.

Watch below as the pundit tells viewers about the ‘impossible situations’ in the football world after Gary Lineker was suspended for comparing government language regarding small boats in the English Channel to Nazi Germany:

Gary Lineker returned to television screens on Saturday night and joined fellow player Alan Shearer to discuss the situation over the past week which has seen viewers face a wordless flagship football programme.

The BBC presenter was removed from Match of the Day last weekend following his tweets about the UK government’s immigration policy.

Other pundits then followed suit, opting against an on-screen appearance in solidarity, before a solution was found later in the week, resulting in Lineker and his team being reinstated for an FA Cup clash.

In a taped introduction, Lineker’s opening words highlighted Vincent Kompany’s return to the Etihad Stadium, now as visitors’ head coach, before Lineker – who appeared to be struggling with a slight lack of voice – handed over to Shearer in the studio.

Shearer then addressed the situation faced by other broadcasters and commentators last week.

More of Karl Matchett Here:

game of the day Host Gary Lineker has returned to the BBC and has told viewers it is “great to be here” to present pre-game coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad.

Fellow expert Alan Shearer addressed last week’s controversy, which saw Mr Linekeer taken off the air after criticizing the government’s asylum policy.

Mr Shearer said: “I just have to clean up and wanted to say how upset we were at all the audience who missed out on last weekend.

“It was a really difficult situation for everyone involved. Through no fault of their own, some really great people were put in impossible situations on TV and radio, and it wasn’t fair.

“It’s good to get back to normal and talk about football again.”

Mr Linker said: “I reiterate those sentiments.”

Coverage of the upcoming game then began.

Gary Lineker returns to the BBC at 5.30pm to cover ahead of the Manchester City v Burnley game in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The game and BBC coverage will be broadcast on BBC One and can also be viewed on iPlayer.

Gary Lineker will present a live broadcast of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley on Saturday when he returns to TV screens after a dispute over impartiality.

It will be the 62-year-old broadcaster’s first appearance on the BBC since he was told to step down from presenting Match Of The Day.

The game of the day star has once again teased his imminent return to the BBC, posing in the studio with his “teammates” and fellow pundit Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.

Ahead of his return to BBC programming, Gary Lineker has posted a selfie from the Etihad Stadium on Twitter, where he will present the channel’s coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final match between Manchester City and Burnley.

The expert will be broadcast live on BBC One at 5.30pm.

Football presenter Gary Lineker has condemned the BBC’s suspension dispute over his tweets as “completely disproportionate”.

But he said he had received plenty of support during his row with the BBC, which had been enjoyable and “quite nice”.

It comes as the TV star’s agent said he believes he has a “special agreement” with the network allowing him to comment on refugees and the small boat crisis.

Rishi Sunak must “stand up to his snowflake MPs Waging War on Freedom of Speech” following the Gary Lineker Row, said Sir Keir Starmer.

The Labor leader sought reassurances that Conservative MPs or others associated with the party were not lobbying BBC to “effectively cancel” last weekend’s match of the day.

Gary Lineker believed he had a “special arrangement” with the BBC director-general to tweet about refugees and immigration, his agent said.

Jon Holmes, who is deputizing for Match Of The Day presenter, said the impartiality dispute that arose from Lineker’s recent online action has “collapsed into a pile of rubble” despite his efforts to get everyone “calmed down”.

Mike Bedigan has the story: