Jeremy Clarkson speaks out after Gary Lineker is stood down from presenting Match Of The Day
Jeremy Clarkson has voiced his support for Gary Lineker and Ian Wright as part of the ongoing situation over the Match of the Day presenters.
The BBC today (10 March) released a statement saying Lineker would be stepping back from the broadcaster's flagship football show until there was 'an agreed and clear position on his use of social media'.
The former England footballer recently tweeted out criticism of the government's policy on migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, describing a video put out by the Home Office as 'beyond awful'.
Lineker hit out at an 'immeasurably cruel policy' and said the language used by the government was 'not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s'.
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Just yesterday (9 March) Lineker said he had been looking forward to presenting Match of the Day at the weekend before the BBC's announcement that he would not be appearing on the show.
Fellow former England strikers and Match of the Day stalwarts Ian Wright and Alan Shearer later tweeted to say they wouldn't be appearing on the programme in an act of 'solidarity' with Lineker.
Meanwhile, a whole succession of pundits and former players who might have been considered as potential replacements have been ruling themselves out of the running to keep Lineker's seat warm until he returns.
On top of that, former BBC presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been among those voicing his support for Lineker, Wright and Shearer on social media.
Clarkson was one of the BBC's most controversial presenters during his time working for the broadcaster, where he helmed Top Gear alongside Richard Hammond and James May.
Lots of people have been drawing comparisons with the way the BBC treated Clarkson, keeping him on through a series of scandals until he punched a producer, with Lineker being benched from Match of the Day for criticising the government on his own Twitter account independent of any BBC publication or broadcast.
While people are mentioning Clarkson to compare his experience with Lineker, the man himself has been weighing in on the matter with his own tweets.
Clarkson responded to Ian Wright's tweet saying he wouldn't be going on Match of the Day without Lineker by writing 'good on you mate'.
When someone questioned whether the people backing Lineker were the same who thought Clarkson should be sacked by Amazon and ITV he responded to them with: "I supported me and I support Gary also."
Other high profile figures who've worked for the BBC in the past also slammed the broadcaster for their actions regarding Lineker, with Richard Osman calling the decision 'beyond pathetic for so many reasons'.
LADbible has contacted the BBC for comment.
Topics: Gary Lineker, Jeremy Clarkson, Sport, BBC, UK News
Joe Harker