BBC accused of giving Gary Lineker ‘hero's farewell' with Match of the Day swansong
Lineker's departure has been confirmed after mounting pressure within the corporation and beyond over an 'anti-Semitic' social media post last week.
However, corporation chiefs have allowed the former England football captain to host this Sunday's coverage of the last matches of the Premier League season.
Campaigners and BBC insiders are now questioning why he was not dismissed with immediate effect given the levels of offence caused by the now-deleted Instagram post showing an anti-Semitic rat emoji.
Among television executives to express fresh concern are Leo Pearlman, chief executive at Fulwell Entertainment, and Danny Cohen, former director of BBC Television.
'The BBC's decision to allow Lineker a final appearance on Match of the Day, effectively offering him a hero's farewell, despite the fact that he is leaving the corporation because of his use of an anti-Semitic trope comparing Jews to vermin, is deeply disturbing,' Pearlman told Telegraph Sport. 'At a time when anti-Semitism in Britain is rising at an alarming rate, the BBC's choice to honour Lineker in this way sends an appalling message to the Jewish community.'
Cohen added: 'The BBC has made the right decision to part ways with Gary Lineker, but he should not be allowed a final swansong this weekend. And why the BBC's statement does not even mention anti-Semitism is hard to understand. Given the Nazi echoes of the content shared it will be very hard for many in the Jewish community to see Mr Lineker present Match of the Day again on Sunday.
'If the racist content had been directed at another community, I do not believe a presenter would be allowed to carry on for another week. The BBC has a serious and wide-ranging problem with anti-Semitism. Only much stronger executive leadership can change that.'
Jane Lush, the former controller of BBC Entertainment and Comedy, added: 'No person, however popular, is bigger or more important than the BBC. I say this as the person who personally fired Angus Deayton from Have I Got News For You. When many predicted it would see the demise of the programme, 23 years later the show is going as strongly as ever. The lesson the BBC should learn is that it cannot allow anyone – however well known or influential – to damage its reputation in this way again.'
Lineker will lose out on an estimated £800,000 after being forced to leave without a pay-off. Sources close to the corporation say the decision to drop him was made primarily by BBC chiefs who had run out of patience with his outspoken political views.
The latest controversy was set in motion on Monday last week when the Match of the Day presenter used Instagram to promote a pro-Palestinian video featuring a rat emoji – an icon used by the Nazis as a slur against Jewish people. Lineker apologised and removed the video but calls to remove him from the BBC grew louder on Thursday when Telegraph Sport published an explosive interview with Lineker in which he went further than ever in his comments about Israel and also criticised his boss at the BBC.
It was confirmed at noon on Monday that this Sunday's Match of the Day will be Lineker's last BBC outing.
An anonymous BBC member of staff said in response on Monday: 'It's not just about the rat, the video itself contained anti-Semitic tropes and yet it seems like BBC bosses have done the bare minimum of damage limitation. As a Jewish member of staff, that feels like a betrayal.'
Stuart Andrew MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: 'It is unacceptable that the BBC is permitting Gary Lineker to host Match of the Day as a presenter for one more show given his reposting of offensive content which played into ancient anti-Semitic tropes. Such a decision not only undermines the seriousness of anti-Semitism but also calls into question the BBC's commitment to being impartial.'
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