Ian Wright says BBC made a ‘hot mess’ of Gary Lineker row

To say that the most recent weekend for the BBC was an eventful one is certainly an understatement.

Last Friday (10 March), the broadcaster announced that Gary Lineker would not be presenting Match of the Day until an agreement was made over his social media use, amid comments he made about the Government's new immigration bill comparing it to 1930s Germany.

Following that, the BBC was plunged into chaos with pundits such as Alan Shearer and Ian Wright walking out of the show, and commentators at the football grounds also refusing to work in solidarity with Lineker.

As a result, Match of the Day lasted just 20 minutes on Saturday (11 March), which had a rather eerie feel about it with no presenter, pundits and commentators.

However, Lineker was allowed to return to work for the BBC on Monday (13 March), with the company reportedly apologising to the former footballer in private, while publicly noting it had been a 'difficult period for staff, contributors, presenters and, most importantly, our audiences'.

Instagram / garylineker

The broadcaster also announced it is launching an independent review on its social media guidelines.

Now, that the situation is all resolved with Lineker back on covering football for the BBC this weekend, Ian Wright has given his thoughts on the fiasco.

Speaking on his podcast Wrighty's House, Wright vowed to leave the BBC if Lineker was to be sacked, saying: "If they do, the BBC get rid of Gary Lineker, I’m out. I’m gone, I’m not staying there."

Now that the drama is seemingly in the past, Wright has described the way the BBC handled the Lineker situation as a 'hot mess', and that the row had been a ‘perfect distraction from what really matters’.

BBC

He added: "For me, they made a hot mess. I’m telling you, this is all from high up, I can’t blame my man [the head of BBC TV Sport] Philip Bernie, the BBC Sports team. All of this is over a tweet.

"At some stage surely, heads have got to roll… the mismanagement levels of this is, I can’t even tell you, but it’s done, everybody knows how I feel about it.

"I’m just pleased that it’s kind of come to something."

To address the chaos that has unfolded in recent days, the BBC invited staff to lunchtime sessions in Salford on Tuesday (14 March), according to the PA news agency.

This was so director-general Tim Davie and chief content officer Charlotte Moore could 'hear from staff, take questions and reflect on the events of the last few days'.