Entertainment
Gary Lineker accused of ‘sharing anti-Israel post in breach of BBC rules’-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro
Gary Lineker has once again found himself in hot water over his X posts (Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Gary Lineker has been accused of sharing an anti-Israel post which may be in breach of the BBC’s election rules.
The Match of the Day star, 63, has previously been in hot water over his posts on X, and after the war in Gaza erupted in October, shared a video accusing Israel of ‘textbook genocide’.
He has now liked a social media post which said only a ‘f***ed up species’ could fail to condemn Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ actions.
This comes after 274 Palestinian people were killed as a special forces mission rescued four hostages.
According to the latest figures from Al Jazeera, more than 37,000 people have been killed in Gaza including more than 15,000 children, with more than 84,000 injured and 10,000 missing.
According to reports, Lineker reshared a post without comment on X which shared a video of causalities in a hospital in Deir al-Balah, following an alleged Israeli strike on a refugee camp.
X user @JimMFelton shared the video and wrote: ‘What kind of f***ed up species can’t look at endless scenes like this and collectively agree what Israel is doing is abhorrent.’
It is said Lineker did not comment on anything and has since taken down his share of the post, but has still liked Felton’s comment.
A BBC source claimed it was ‘a clear breach’ (Picture: Getty)
A BBC source told iNews: ‘This repost looks like a clear breach but Gary knows the BBC won’t dare take him off air just before the Euros.’
Metro.co.uk understands that the ‘f**ked up species’ phrase is to refer to the human race in general, not any national group, and there was no other intended meaning.
Former BBC director of television Danny Cohen also added to the i: ‘Gary Lineker has clearly broken the BBC’s strict election guidelines which prevent the corporation’s flagship presenters from expressing opinions on politically contentious subjects during the campaign.
‘One also wonders why he would support a message which refers to people who have different views to him as a “f**ked up species”. That’s very disturbing.’
Last year, Lineker, who is one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters, was temporarily taken off air after tweeting that the language used by the Government to promote its asylum plans was not dissimilar to that used in 1930s Germany.
Lineker was involved in an impartiality row last year which led to a Match of the Day boycott (Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
The well-documented impartiality row saw a boycott on Match of the Day by top on-air talent, including Alex Scott and Ian Wright, and the BBC launched an independent review of its social media guidance for freelancers.
Following the backlash and boycott, the BBC later updated its social media guidelines, which allow Lineker and other freelancers who aren’t news reporters to share their political views on social media as they wish.
The broadcaster’s top stars are banned from political campaigning and criticising the character of individual politicians but are allowed to express their views on issues and policies.
Talent are also now banned from endorsing or slamming a political party while their programme is broadcasting and for a two-week period before the series starts and ends.
After they were revealed, Lineker labelled the new guidelines as ‘all very sensible’.
Metro.co.uk understands that the BBC doesn’t comment on individuals or individual social media posts, but does have conversations with individuals as required.
Metro.co.uk has approached the BBC and Gary Lineker’s reps for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Gary Lineker has once again found himself in hot water over his X posts (Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Gary Lineker has been accused of sharing an anti-Israel post which may be in breach of the BBC’s election rules.
The Match of the Day star, 63, has previously been in hot water over his posts on X, and after the war in Gaza erupted in October, shared a video accusing Israel of ‘textbook genocide’.
He has now liked a social media post which said only a ‘f***ed up species’ could fail to condemn Israel’s ‘abhorrent’ actions.
This comes after 274 Palestinian people were killed as a special forces mission rescued four hostages.
According to the latest figures from Al Jazeera, more than 37,000 people have been killed in Gaza including more than 15,000 children, with more than 84,000 injured and 10,000 missing.
According to reports, Lineker reshared a post without comment on X which shared a video of causalities in a hospital in Deir al-Balah, following an alleged Israeli strike on a refugee camp.
X user @JimMFelton shared the video and wrote: ‘What kind of f***ed up species can’t look at endless scenes like this and collectively agree what Israel is doing is abhorrent.’
It is said Lineker did not comment on anything and has since taken down his share of the post, but has still liked Felton’s comment.
A BBC source claimed it was ‘a clear breach’ (Picture: Getty)
A BBC source told iNews: ‘This repost looks like a clear breach but Gary knows the BBC won’t dare take him off air just before the Euros.’
Metro.co.uk understands that the ‘f**ked up species’ phrase is to refer to the human race in general, not any national group, and there was no other intended meaning.
Former BBC director of television Danny Cohen also added to the i: ‘Gary Lineker has clearly broken the BBC’s strict election guidelines which prevent the corporation’s flagship presenters from expressing opinions on politically contentious subjects during the campaign.
‘One also wonders why he would support a message which refers to people who have different views to him as a “f**ked up species”. That’s very disturbing.’
Last year, Lineker, who is one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters, was temporarily taken off air after tweeting that the language used by the Government to promote its asylum plans was not dissimilar to that used in 1930s Germany.
Lineker was involved in an impartiality row last year which led to a Match of the Day boycott (Picture: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
The well-documented impartiality row saw a boycott on Match of the Day by top on-air talent, including Alex Scott and Ian Wright, and the BBC launched an independent review of its social media guidance for freelancers.
Following the backlash and boycott, the BBC later updated its social media guidelines, which allow Lineker and other freelancers who aren’t news reporters to share their political views on social media as they wish.
The broadcaster’s top stars are banned from political campaigning and criticising the character of individual politicians but are allowed to express their views on issues and policies.
Talent are also now banned from endorsing or slamming a political party while their programme is broadcasting and for a two-week period before the series starts and ends.
After they were revealed, Lineker labelled the new guidelines as ‘all very sensible’.
Metro.co.uk understands that the BBC doesn’t comment on individuals or individual social media posts, but does have conversations with individuals as required.
Metro.co.uk has approached the BBC and Gary Lineker’s reps for comment.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
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