Lineker gone from BBC (for now), after outcry over tweet on British asylum policy

Former footballer Gary Lineker will stop presenting the BBC program Match of the Day, which shows summaries of the English Premier League, for the time being. The BBC says it sees no other option to do so, after Lineker compared Britain’s asylum policy to practices of Nazi Germany in a tweet.

In the tweet in question, he claimed that fewer refugees are taken in in Britain compared to other major European countries. “This is just incredibly cruel policy targeting the most vulnerable people in a language not much different from that of Germany in the 1930s.”

The BBC reported in a statement that Lineker had violated internal rules with his tweet. If Lineker promises to modify his behavior on social media, there is still a way back.

The immediate reason for Lineker’s comments is a tweet from the British Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. In a video, she lays out the government’s asylum plans. The plan is to prevent illegal migrants from being granted asylum.

Under the new law, these people would have to be taken to their countries of origin or a safe “third” country such as Rwanda. “We must stop the boats,” the video reads above.

The 62-year-old Lineker played 80 international matches for England, in which he scored 48 goals. After his soccer career, he became one of Britain’s best-known sports presenters.