Lineker thought he had a “special arrangement” with Tim Davie over tweets, agent says

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”.

The row was sparked after Lineker was taken off the air over a tweet comparing the language used to introduce a new government asylum-seekers policy to that of 1930s Germany.

He was subsequently asked to “resign” from the popular football highlights show, prompting a boycott by his MOTD pundits and commentators.

Writing in The New Statesman, Mr Holmes offered an insight into the aftermath of the days since the initial tweet.

“My phone started ringing excessively on the afternoon of March 7 after Suella Braverman made her statement on the government’s small boat policy in the House of Commons,” he wrote.

“Gary Lineker, who I have worked with since 1980, had tweeted about politics and reiterated his support for refugees.

“Gary is passionate about refugees and immigration and, as he saw it, had a special arrangement with Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, to tweet about these issues.”

Mr Holmes described the BBC’s social media usage policy for staff and freelancers as “a bit vague” but said both he and Lineker believed in the channel’s “impartiality and independence”.

He stressed that his client was not a political expert and “steadfastly avoids” participating in on-air political programs.

Mr Holmes said after Lineker’s initial attempts to defuse the situation failed, the presenter told him to ‘get it sorted’.

He said he held talks with Mr Davie last Sunday and plans were being made for a satisfactory solution, which included the BBC’s subsequent apology and a review of its impartiality guidelines.

Lineker will resume his duties as presenter of Match Of The Day on Saturday and will be “adhering to editorial guidelines” pending the BBC review, Mr Davie said.

Since the row, Lineker has changed his Twitter profile picture to a photo of himself next to a quote from George Orwell, which is posted on the wall outside the BBC.

“If freedom means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear,” the quote reads.

Lineker also retweeted a video of former Prime Minister Theresa May criticizing the government’s proposed immigration bill in the House of Commons, calling it a “blanket dismissal” of those who are being persecuted.