Gary Lineker: Why his comments present a problem for the BBC

As the UK's astir scrutinised media organisation successful progressively polarised times, to accidental Gary Lineker's caller tweets origin trouble for the BBC is an understatement.

The manager general, Tim Davie, has made impartiality a cardinal level of his leadership.

Trust successful the corp is astatine the bosom of this. It matters if the nationalist believes its nationalist work broadcaster doesn't correspond their views, oregon that the BBC is shaped by a peculiar perspective.

Davie has antecedently said: "If you privation to beryllium an opinionated columnist oregon a partisan campaigner connected societal media past that is simply a valid choice, but you should not beryllium moving astatine the BBC."

However, determination is simply a large quality betwixt impartiality, which unit and on-air endowment who enactment successful quality are bound by, and "due" impartiality, which the BBC is committed to achieving crossed each its output.

Ofcom defines owed impartiality, an important favoritism from simply impartiality, arsenic "means capable oregon due to the taxable and quality of the programme".

To usage the classical example: If idiosyncratic says the world is round, the BBC does not person to springiness adjacent value to idiosyncratic other who claims the world is flat.

Lineker is simply a sports presenter. He tweets connected his idiosyncratic Twitter account.

If a quality presenter commented, arsenic helium has done, astir the government's asylum policies, oregon astir Brexit for example, they would astatine the precise slightest person a precise superior warning.

Lineker, arsenic idiosyncratic associated with athletics for the BBC, and who argues helium is simply a freelancer, is successful a antithetic position.

"I effort to beryllium sensible," helium told Radio 4's Media Show successful 2021, saying that arsenic a freelancer he's "considerate" to his employers erstwhile it comes to what helium tweets.

He added that the BBC rules "only use to radical successful quality and existent affairs".

From the outside, it tin look much complicated.

The BBC's editorial guidelines state: "Where individuals place themselves arsenic being linked with the BBC, oregon are programme makers, editorial staff, reporters oregon presenters chiefly associated with the BBC, their activities connected societal media person the imaginable to compromise the BBC's impartiality and to harm its reputation."

Lineker's Twitter relationship has 8.7m followers. So helium has a immense platform.

And, immoderate the acceptable up of the BBC arsenic a broadcaster, with athletics and quality being chiseled from 1 another, for audiences that favoritism tin beryllium little clear. In galore people's minds, if you are connected the BBC, you enactment for it, and Lineker happens to beryllium 1 of corporation's astir precocious illustration presenters.

That's wherefore the BBC's editorial guidelines besides accidental that radical with platforms person a greater work to uphold impartiality.

Last year, a antithetic tweet by Lineker was found to person breached BBC rules. That acrophobic a station astir the then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urging a boycott of the Champions League last successful Russia.

The Match of the Day big added: "And her enactment volition manus backmost their donations from Russian donors?"

The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit ruled that, though the prima is not required to uphold the aforesaid impartiality standards arsenic BBC journalists, helium has an "additional responsibility" due to the fact that of his profile.

"We expect these individuals to debar taking sides connected enactment governmental issues oregon governmental controversies and to instrumentality attraction erstwhile addressing nationalist argumentation matters," the ruling said.

To his detractors, Lineker has form. He has made comments earlier that immoderate person recovered controversial, including, successful 2016, that the government's attraction of asylum seekers was "hideously racist and utterly heartless".

But helium is besides a overmuch loved and good respected sports broadcaster. Match of the Day is simply a precise fashionable programme.

He whitethorn beryllium the BBC's highest paid star, but helium could astir apt gain adjacent much if helium switched to different broadcaster.

Lineker intelligibly cares profoundly astir the contented of migrant crossings, and helium has taken refugees into his ain location successful the past.

He has not removed his archetypal Twitter comments criticising the government's asylum announcements, which helium posted connected Tuesday.

After those tweets caused controversy, he tweeted connected Wednesday: "Great to spot the state of code champions retired successful unit this greeting demanding soundlessness from those with whom they disagree."

He besides thanked his followers for their "love and support", pledging to "continue to effort and talk up for those mediocre souls that person nary voice".

Lineker appears bullish. And helium isn't the lone sports presenter straying into authorities this morning, with BT Sport anchor Jake Humphrey describing the government's "stop the boats" pledge arsenic being "a cruel slogan".

The News Agents presenter and erstwhile BBC writer Emily Maitlis said it was "curious that Gary Lineker [was] escaped to rise questions astir Qatar's quality rights grounds - with the blessing of the BBC - implicit the World Cup, but cannot rise questions of quality rights successful this state if it involves disapproval of authorities policy".

However, this is arguably a mendacious equivalence. Voicing an sentiment connected a authorities argumentation astir migrant crossings, a divisive subject, is not the aforesaid happening arsenic highlighting well-documented quality rights breaches successful Qatar, thing which is simply a substance of fact.

The BBC is successful a hard position. They accidental a "frank" speech is being had with Lineker. But successful the end, what are the options?

With immoderate Conservative MPs calling for him to beryllium sacked, not for the archetypal time, the unit is mounting.

Perceptions connected impartiality matter, but it's besides wide that impartiality tin beryllium politicised by radical who person an docket against the BBC.

As it navigates the demands of its editorial standards, its endowment and its audiences, the BBC is walking a tightrope.