Gary Lineker is to return to presenting Match Of The Day after the BBC had shown him the red card.
The broadcaster’s highest-paid presenter was suspended over his tweets about the government’s planned new laws to curb migrants’ Channel crossings.
But some readers say they enjoyed watching the football without the bells and whistles, while others came to Lineker’s defence and said he has the right to say what he believes.
Read on to see what else people are talking about…
■ Match Of The Day was broadcast on Saturday without suspended presenter Gary Lineker, its pundits, any commentary or even the theme tune (Metro, Mon).
The move followed a row over BBC impartiality after its star host called the government’s Illegal Migration Bill ‘immeasurably cruel’ and used ‘language not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s’.
The 20-minute version of the show scored 2.58million viewers – up half a million on the previous Saturday.
I watched it for the first time in years. It was great – no grossly overpaid presenters under the illusion that people are interested in anything they say, no pundits stating the obvious, no interviews with players or team managers, no commentators telling us about a player’s ‘cultured’ left foot.
The bottom line is that I could watch football rather than have to watch people talking about football. Martin J Phillips, Leeds
■ I am getting tired of opinions such as those of John Daniels (MetroTalk, Mon), who reckons immigrants who row in boats across the Channel ‘jump the queue’.
These are people who have fled war-torn countries such as Syria, Palestine and Ukraine. They aren’t to blame here.
The ones rowing the boats and getting them on them are to blame. And it’s those people we should be targeting, not the ones who are wanting a better life.
These people exploit migrants at their most vulnerable, taking their life savings to traffic them over here and forcing them to shelter in appalling conditions and work for free to pay back ‘debts’. It’s called human trafficking. Laura, Walthamstow
■ I agree with Gary Lineker about the poor people fleeing war and poverty in small boats across the Channel.
The government is making a major issue out of something that (if you’ll excuse the pun) is a drop in the ocean.
And why it’s making this an issue is to win votes in the likes of Stoke, Bury, Leigh and other so-called Red Wall seats, while the more enlightened in other parts of the country are concerned about issues such as the cost of energy and food, more help for childcare, care homes, more funding for the NHS, closing tax loopholes and increasing windfall taxes. I could go on. Eddie Bailey, Liverpool
■ Barbara (MetroTalk, Fri) suggests that due to his ‘multi-millionaire’ status, Gary Lineker is so far removed from the poor of this country that he should ‘go back to his naïve and pampered world’.
Is that the same world as multi-millionaire prime minister Rishi Sunak and all his rich Tory friends?
The Illegal Migration Bill is not about helping poor people in this country. It is purely about winning votes from right-wing bigots who have no compassion for their fellow man. David, Manchester
■ The BBC allows people such as David Attenborough, Graham Norton and now Lineker to remain in post for far too long and markets them as ‘national institutions’. Then, guess what? The individuals start to believe it themselves. DD, London
■ Lineker was right in what he said about the UK policy on asylum seekers.
Also, how can the BBC claim to be impartial when it’s chairman is a government appointee? And, given the government constantly threatens the BBC with changing or scrapping the TV licence, it’s obvious the BBC has to toe the government line.
Only when there’s no government involvement can the BBC honestly claim to be impartial. Until then, the BBC is just a puppet and the Tories pull the strings. Dave M, Leeds
■ What some people don’t get is that this is how it starts – the dehumanising of any set of people slowly leads to the extremes that happened in Germany in the 1930s.
The attitude this government is taking could easily lead to those extremes unless people are brave enough to oppose them. Full marks to Gary Lineker. John Lewis, Coulsdon
■ It is not Gary Lineker that needs to go. It is the government. Are we living in Putin’s Russia, where freedom of speech is prohibited? The government is stoking this controversy. I want a BBC that has freedom to speak. Louise, Cheltenham
■ Without the BBC, Lineker would not have his following on Twitter, so the organisation is right to sanction him over its code of impartiality. John Nightingale, Redbridge
Uncertainty over floral tributes, a free ride for fare-dodgers, and Covid mental health
■ In public parks and gardens up and down the country there are seats and benches donated in memory of loved ones. I much appreciate these and feel it’s a thoughtful and kind way of remembering someone.
However, relatives often attach a bouquet of flowers, often artificial, to the bench. I feel uneasy sitting on such a bench and tend not to use such a kind facility. Do others feel the same? David Atherton, Merseyside
■ I see multiple people every day on my commute pushing through the ticket barriers at West Hampstead Overground with impunity, watched and left unchallenged by TfL staff. Is it policy for staff members to ignore fare evasion? I would love to hear from a member of TfL staff. George, Hertfordshire
■ I would like to say a happy 10th birthday to Gogglebox. I don’t know if many Metro readers watch it, but I can’t think of a better show on TV. Joe, Wakefield
■ Regarding the Covid mental health fallout (MetroTalk, Fri). It’s no shock that we’ve all been through loneliness and anxiety through the lockdown, and this is applicable to both young and older people. The simple solution is to acknowledge the past and learn from it and to show support to fellow members, because by doing so we can all look up to the brighter future. Meryl Rodrigues, London
■ I am flummoxed by all these stories of people’s mental health. Yes, Covid was an awful time but why has it affected so many? Seems that people can’t cope with life and the slightest upset leaves them with mental health issues. Vicki, West Midlands
What you said...
On Monday, we asked you whether or not you approve of people taking their pets on public transport during rush hour after a reader complained about it.
You said…
- No – not everyone wants to share a crammed space with an animal – 68%
- Yes – at least they’ll brighten up a boring commute – 29%
- Neither – I’ll leave my comment – 3%
Start a text with VIEWS followed by your comment, name and where you live to 65700. Standard network charge applies. Or email mail@ukmetro.co.uk Helpline for Views, Rush-Hour Crush and Good Deed Feed: 020 3615 0600. Full T&Cs on metro.co.uk/terms. Metro is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation. Comments may be edited for reasons of legality, clarity or space.
from News – Metro https://ift.tt/MzoJD1r
0 Comments