'Lineker's departure may be a win for anti-woke media – but it's the Beeb's loss’

This sacking of the champion shot presenter of his procreation from MOTD does not equate to a nonaccomplishment for america fans – conscionable the cowardly broadcaster, says Mirror columnist Brian Reade. So travel on, Gary, present you're escaped to talk, archer america what you truly think…

HERE’S a spot of proposal to the BBC “insiders” who are trying to get shot fans excited astir who whitethorn instrumentality the reins astatine Match of the Day.

We don’t care. By the clip MOTD goes out, precocious Saturday night, the bulk of america person seen the games, goals and controversies that involvement us, and lone grounds the show, to beryllium watched the adjacent day, if our squad has won oregon our rivals person been defeated.

Due to the endless proviso of streamed contented elsewhere, MOTD is contiguous a antithetic programme wholly to the 1 we watched religiously erstwhile increasing up.

As for Gary, determination volition beryllium nary shortage of broadcasters consenting to treble his BBC declaration to beforehand their sports shows. So, for the radical who truly matter, licence fee-paying shot fans, Lineker leaving is nary large deal.

But the mode a loyal presenter of 25 years, who is inactive astatine the apical of his game, has been driven out, precise overmuch is. Mainly due to the fact that it offers further grounds that the BBC, nether its Tory donor brag Tim Davie, is petrified of upsetting Conservative MPs and right-wing media successful lawsuit its backing is pulled.

The undiminished joyousness connected GB News and successful Tory-backing papers this week implicit the sacking of a antheral they disparage arsenic a woke, bleeding-heart champagne socialist, implies that Davie received galore acknowledgment for seeing disconnected the antheral the Daily Mail calls The Righteous One.

For years they person despised however Lineker was escaped to connection his left-of-centre takes connected societal media and stay successful the wage of the BBC.

Despite the information helium is simply a freelance idiosyncratic who points retired that his governmental views are his own.

His each refugee-supporting, injustice-hating station was met with rage. After a tweet past twelvemonth criticising the government’s asylum policy, dozens of Tory MPs signed letters calling for his removal from our screens.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Clarkson tin telephone for Meghan Markle to beryllium paraded bare done streets having turds thrown astatine her, and determination are nary calls for his TV paymasters to region him. Just admiration for “telling it similar it is”. Can you ideate the screams for ITV to sack Lineker from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? if helium was its host, and had written, arsenic Clarkson has, that the authorities plans to “ethnically cleanse” our farmland to physique “new towns for immigrants”?

I wrote here, 8 years ago, that post-Brexit Britain had go divided into 2 tribes: Tribe Katie Hopkins and Tribe Gary Lineker. One that is contemptuous of people’s suffering, different who thinks it’s inhumane not to assistance them.

Since then, with the emergence of the hard-right Reform Party and the accrued toxicity of the Tories, the part has go much stark.

Throw successful the instrumentality of Donald Trump with an medication rammed with fascist nutjobs, the emboldening effect this volition person connected right-wing extremists successful Israel, positive the takeover of societal media’s biggest level by Elon Musk, and the satellite needs each the Gary Linekers it tin get.

This cowardly sacking of the champion shot presenter of his procreation does not equate to a nonaccomplishment for america fans. Just the BBC.

As for Lineker, we should invited the information that he’s been fixed the accidental to walk much clip with his “woke” opinions.

Now that you’re escaped to bash so, Gary, archer america what you truly think.