Piers Morgan takes aim at the BBC for making an 'absolute dog's dinner' over Gary Lineker's 'Tweetgate' row and claims the broadcaster 'should look at their own boardroom' after its chairman was accused of impartiality
- The BBC has apologised for disruption that followed Gary Lineker's suspension
- Lineker will return to Match of the Day after a disrupted weekend of sport
- Piers Morgan slammed the BBC for making a 'dog's dinner' of the row
Piers Morgan has slammed the BBC for their handling of the Gary Lineker row, and suggested they should 'look in the boardroom' for impartiality problems before punishing sports presenters.
Lineker will return to present Match of the Day next Saturday after initially being suspended in an impartiality row after anti-Tory tweets equating the Government's crackdown on migrants in small boats to Germany in the 1930s.
The suspension resulted in commentators and pundits pulling out from the famous programme, which ran at just 20 minutes with no discussion.
Director General Tim Davie, who is facing calls to resign, has apologised to BBC staff and presenters and BBC viewers and listeners, whose sporting coverage was decimated this weekend.
Morgan felt the BBC had handled the situation poorly, as he told talkSPORT: 'It's not a debate about impartiality as much as it's a debate about free speech.
![The BBC has apologised for disruption caused by Gary Lineker's suspension a Match of the Day host](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/10/68641415-11853483-image-a-13_1678705094833.jpg)
The BBC has apologised for disruption caused by Gary Lineker's suspension a Match of the Day host
![Match of the Day ran at just 20 minutes with no punditry or commentary on Saturday after BBC stars sided with Lineker](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/12/20/68613281-11851275-image-a-1_1678654619158.jpg)
Match of the Day ran at just 20 minutes with no punditry or commentary on Saturday after BBC stars sided with Lineker
'Gary Lineker is not a BBC employee, he's a freelancer, and like many freelancers who do stuff for the BBC, he reserves the right to have his opinions on his twitter feed.'
'Alan Sugar does it, Deborah Meaden does it, Karen Brady does it, David Attenborough does it, they all do it, so why there should be an exception for Gary is completely beyond me.'
The broadcaster and journalist went on to suggest the BBC should look at board members rather than sports presenters for impartiality concerns.
'I like Tim Davie [The BBC Director General] personally, I think he's a very smart guy. But he's made an absolute dog's dinner of this.
'They've got the added problem of the BBC Chairman Richard Sharp,' he said, 'who is already facing his own investigation for impartiality.'
Sharp has admitted to making a ‘significant error of judgment’ in failing to declare his role in securing Boris Johnson a loan weeks before the then Prime Minister nominated him for BBC chairman. As Morgan Pointed out, he was also a conservative party donor for close to two decades.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/14/68647221-11853993-image-m-57_1678716435444.jpg)
Piers Morgan said the BBC has made an 'absolute dog's dinner of the impartiality row
He continued: 'None of this looks great, and if the BBC wants to start getting it's house in order when it comes to impartiality, it should probably look at the boardroom before it looks at people like Gary Lineker.
Morgan also revealed speaking to Lineker after his suspension, as he added: 'I said to Gary: "my first though was deep sympathy for you in a difficult moment, my second thought was to ring the BBC and say I'm available to host match of the day!"
'I would be astonished if Gary Lineker apologises, I'd be astonished if he backs down I'd be astonished if he agrees to delete the tweets, not withstanding the fact that I happen to disagree with him.
'The whole point of free speech is that you tolerate opinions that you don't agree with.'
When asked how he thought the BBC would try and solve the row, Morgan said: 'I think they're probably going to fudge it, and say they'll review the guidelines for freelancers, but I'll be amazed if Gary backs down because why would he. It looks to me like the BBC are on the backfoot, not Gary Lineker.'
Davie has insisted there will be a review of the BBC's impartiality policy in the aftermath of the row, and that Lineker will abide by the guidance while this takes place.
![BBC Director General Tim Davie has apologised to BBC viewers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/14/68648241-11853993-image-m-62_1678716456677.jpg)
![Richard Sharp has come under fire for his links to the conservative party](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/03/13/14/68647227-11853993-image-m-60_1678716450170.jpg)
He criticised Director General Tim Davie's (left) handling of the crisis and felt chairman Richard Sharp (right) was more at fault for breaching impartiality than Lineker
In a statement, the Director General said: 'Everyone recognises this has been a difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences.
'I apologise for this. The potential confusion caused by the grey areas of the BBC's social media guidance that was introduced in 2020 is recognised. I want to get matters resolved and our sport content back on air.
'Impartiality is important to the BBC. It is also important to the public. The BBC has a commitment to impartiality in its Charter and a commitment to freedom of expression. That is a difficult balancing act to get right where people are subject to different contracts and on air positions, and with different audience and social media profiles.
'The BBC's social media guidance is designed to help manage these sometimes difficult challenges and I am aware there is a need to ensure that the guidance is up to this task. It should be clear, proportionate, and appropriate.'
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