Simon Jordan has ripped out discarded presenter Gary Lineker in a social media post, labeling those who stand in solidarity as “virtue signaling nitwits.”
Lineker will not present Match of the Day this weekend after the BBC ruled his recent tweet comparing the government’s migration plans to Nazi Germany violated impartiality rules.
And following the news, a number of prominent BBC pundits and presenters took to online to announce their refusal to appear on the show.
Alan Shearer, Alex Scott, Ian Wright and Micah Richards all wrote a message on their Twitter accounts to support their BBC colleague.
After seeing news of the BBC pundits – Ian Wright in particular – refusing to appear on the programme, Jordan took to Twitter to write: ‘Oh no! I suppose we now at least have an enlightening commentary. Virtue signaling nitwits’.
Simon Jordan (left) has slammed those in solidarity with Gary Lineker (right) after the England legend was sacked from his role as host of the match of the day
Ian Wright will not appear on Match of the Day this weekend in support of Gary Lineker
Alan Shearer was also one of the leading candidates for the role before ruling himself out with a tweet on Friday night. “I have informed the BBC that I will not be on MOTD tomorrow night,” he wrote.
Shortly after Shearer’s tweet, his BBC co-pundit Alex Scott took to social media to also announce that she would not be appearing on the show. She wrote “FYI…” and added a GIF that read “Nah! Not me.’
Fellow football pundit Ian Wright also tweeted that he would also avoid presenting Match of the Day while the ban is in place, barring him from taking part.
Micah Richards, initially at odds of 200/1, also ruled himself out after writing: ‘I wouldn’t be working on MOTD tomorrow, but if I did I’d make the same decision as Ian Wright and Alan Shearer . to have.’
Finally, Jermaine Jenas took to social media to announce that he would take the same position as his colleagues.
He wrote, “Been on the air with that one show. I wasn’t planning on doing the game of the day tomorrow, but if I was, I would have said no and stood with my fellow pundits and Gary Lineker.
Later in the day, Jordan performed talkSPORT to speak on Lineker’s situation, claiming the former England star “must be prepared to fall on his sword.”
Gary Lineker will stop presenting Match of the Day pending further talks with his bosses, the BBC announced today
He said, ‘He shouldn’t apologize because he means it or he doesn’t, don’t he? He cannot have the courage in his beliefs and has no skin in the game.
“Too often in football people rebel against something and if it means a sacrifice they back off. We saw that nonsense at the World Cup when people wanted to wear bracelets until it bothered them.
“So here we are, Lineker said what he meant, he meant what he said, so by definition he’s willing to fall on his sword.”
Jordan continued by suggesting that Lineker is “contrary to a very clear policy” of the BBC.
“The BBC has a very clear policy, if you want to make it a separable line and stand in solidarity with something you all believe in, that’s up to them,” he said.
“The other guys who want to do it shouldn’t be slandered. People in this country have very different views, Lineker has his own, and the consequences of his are that he is in violation of a very clear policy.”
“No one is victimizing Gary Lineker. Gary Lineker has pointed out very unfortunate, very clumsy language pertaining to something that not only offends people’s sensitivity to a particular belief, but also makes political commentary.
“Listen, if he wants to be a martyr to his own cause, I admire him for it. If he is so convinced and so committed to the cause as to give his opinion the upper hand and express his opinion and use his influence, then he will take the relevant consequences.
“Most people in and around this industry have that kind of courage and conviction, so I imagine he will adapt to the guidelines set by the BBC.
“If he doesn’t, he’ll rise in my estimation because he’ll suffer the consequences if he refuses to refocus.”
Jordan claimed that Lineker should now be “prepared to fall on his sword” following the tweet
The BBC’s highest paid star caused a huge political stir this week after comparing the language used to launch a new government crackdown on migrants crossing the Channel in small boats to 1930s Germany .
The 62-year-old Match of the Day host shared a video online of Suella Braverman announcing the details of her new illegal migration law, saying, “My goodness, this is beyond terrible.”
When another user accused him of being ‘out of order’, the former England footballer, who was previously rebuked for other anti-Tory comments, replied: ‘There’s not a huge influx. We are taking in far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy aimed at the most vulnerable people in a language not unlike that of Germany in the 1930s, and I’m not okay?”
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