Gary Lineker 'to step back' from presenting BBC's Match of the Day
The long-time presenter of the BBC's flagship football show has recently been embroiled in a political row after openly criticising the government's new asylum policy.
The BBC said it considered Lineker's "recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines."
The broadcaster also said it had been in "extensive discussions with Gary and team in recent days" and "has decided that he will step back from presenting Match of the Day until we've got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media."
"When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.
"We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can't have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies."
Posting on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday, Lineker criticised Home Secretary Suella Braverman after she had announced new government plans to ban people arriving in the UK illegally from claiming asylum.
The plan has been put in place in an attempt to curtail a steadily rising number of people crossing the English Channel in small and unsafe boats.
In response, Lineker compared the decision and language used to "that of Germany in the '30s" - alluding to the rise of Naziism during that time - and sparking a wider debate on political impartiality within the BBC.
"There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries," Lineker wrote.
"This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the '30s."
His comments have attracted widespread support on social media, with one tweet receiving 235,000 likes, but they have also drawn their fair share of critics.
Ms Braverman later hit out at Lineker's tweet when speaking on the BBC's Political Thinking podcast, saying it "diminishes the unspeakable tragedy" of the Holocaust.
Lineker has been the host of Match of the Day since 1999 and is the BBC's highest-paid on-screen star, earning a reported £1.3 million last year.
The broadcaster recently came under criticism for a perceived "over-politicising" of their coverage of the World Cup in Qatar, with several leading pundits - including Lineker - openly questioning the decision to host the tournament in a region of the Middle East with such a questionable human rights record.
Numerous leading sports TV personalities have lept to the former England striker's defence, with former Arsenal forward - and regular BBC pundit - Ian Wright stating that he won't be appearing on this Saturday's Match of the Day "out of solidarity."
Wright tweeted: "Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I've told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity."
Another Match of the Day pundit, Alan Shearer, was also scheduled for Saturday's edition but has similarly said he will no longer be participating.
"I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night," Shearer wrote on Twitter.
The likes of Jeff Stelling, Laura Woods and other celebrities have also shown their support for Lineker across social media platforms.
Later in the evening, the BBC confirmed this Saturday's show will go ahead without any studio punditry or analysis, showing only match highlights.
