Simon Jordan criticizes the BBC for its “disastrously poor” handling of Gary Lineker’s Twitter row, but insists the broadcaster must NOT apologize to the presenter and must now correct its social media guidelines
- Simon Jordan talks about the BBC’s handling of Gary Lineker’s Twitter row
- Jordan says the BBC shouldn’t apologize to Lineker but should set the tone
- Lineker is set to return to hosting duties this weekend after the BBC backed down
Simon Jordan has criticized the BBC for its “disastrously poor” handling of Gary Lineker’s Twitter row and believes they must now correct their guidelines.
Lineker was forced to withdraw from his hosting role on Friday, after the BBC decided his social media post comparing language used in government migration plans to that used in Germany in the 1930s had violated fairness rules.
His withdrawal from the show prompted a flurry of presenters, pundits and commentators to announce their refusal to work on the BBC’s football coverage over the weekend in support of their colleague.
However, BBC bosses backed down on their stance on Monday, with director-general Tim Davie apologizing to the former England captain and asking him to return to BBC FA Cup coverage this weekend.
Talking on talkSPORTSportsmail’s Jordan regretted the handling of the situation when asked if he thought the BBC should apologize to Lineker.
Simon Jordan has criticized the BBC for its handling of Gary Lineker’s Twitter row
Lineker was asked by the BBC on Monday to return to present Match of the Day.
‘So that? For telling him that we don’t find it particularly acceptable and that we need to redefine the guidelines,” Jordan said.
What they did was handle it disastrously badly, they didn’t communicate it correctly, it seems like it was passed on by the Tories, and it might as well have been.
‘It could well have been a directive from the Tory government, saying ‘we don’t like this’, and clearly some people think it is. I don’t care if that’s the case, but what is needed is a BBC that operates with clear guidelines.”
Jordan has spoken out on Lineker’s situation on several occasions during the controversy, accusing Lineker sympathizers of being “virtuous signal morons” and warning the former England captain to be “prepared to fall on his sword”.
Jordan, who was appointed as the Mail’s new weekly columnist last month, with his column published every Thursday, also told the Match of the Day host that he must be willing to face the consequences after publication, even calling for their striking colleagues to be fired
He continued in the same vein during today’s discussion, believing that Lineker should also not apologize for expressing his views in the tweet.
Jordan added: ‘If you said it and you meant it, you can’t apologize for it. You should never apologize for it or take it back. Because otherwise why did he say it.
BBC Director General Tim Davie stepped out of line and asked Lineker to return to television.
Lineker announces his return to Match of the Day in a defiant series of tweets on Monday
If Lineker meant it, which he clearly does, and for some reason he wanted to post it on social media and lose some of the 9 million followers he’s partly amassed from being on the BBC. To get that message heard, he has to stand up for it, he can’t apologize.
Lineker ironically took to Twitter again to announce that he is returning to the BBC this weekend, in a series of posts addressing the events of the weekend.
He started a four-post thread by saying: ‘After a surreal few days, I’m delighted we’ve navigated this.
I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Soccer is a team game, but their support was overwhelming.’