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England football legend, Lineker gets BBC red card as he’s yanked off air!

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Gary Lineker

Former England soccer captain Gary Lineker has been taken off air by the BBC after his comments on Britain’s migration policy sparked a furious row between the government and the corporation’s highest paid presenter.

Lineker was told there has to be an agreed position on his use of social media before he can return, the BBC said on Friday, with Director General Tim Davie saying it had taken a “proportionate action”.

The row overshadowed a migration deal struck between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, with the BBC accused of bowing to political pressure.

“Gary Lineker off air is an assault on free speech in the face of political pressure,” the opposition Labour party said, calling for the BBC to re-think its decision.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the BBC’s move “indefensible”.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “Individual cases are a matter for the BBC.”

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NEW LAW

On Tuesday, Britain announced details of a new law which would see migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel prevented from claiming asylum and deported either back to their homeland or to so-called safe third countries.

It drew criticism from opposition parties, charities and the U.N.’s refugee agency for its impact on genuine refugees.

Lineker, who has previously hosted refugees in his home, retweeted a post featuring a video of interior minister Suella Braverman talking about the law, with the comment “Good heavens, this is beyond awful”.

Challenged by a respondent, he said: “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, and I’m out of order?”

Lineker faced a backlash to his comments, which were criticised by Sunak’s spokeswoman as “not acceptable”, but said he would “continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice”.

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The BBC said after talks with Lineker and his team that it had decided he would step back from presenting its flagship Match of the Day (MOTD) soccer highlights programme “until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media”.

The Bectu union, which represents thousands of BBC workers, said the corporation’s move was “deeply concerning”.

After four of the show’s regular pundits, former England players Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, Jermaine Jenas and Micah Richards said they did not wish to appear on the programme without Lineker, the BBC said Saturday’s edition would “focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry.”

MOTD commentator Steve Wilson later tweeted that the show’s commentators had also pulled out from Saturday’s broadcast, leaving BBC management reliant on World Feed commentary.

BREACH OF GUIDELINES

Lineker has hosted MOTD for over 20 years and the charismatic 62-year-old has never been afraid to voice his opinions about political issues.

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But the BBC said it considered his recent social media activity to be a breach of its guidelines.

“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,” it added.

The BBC, funded by what is in effect a 159 pounds ($192)annual “license fee” tax on all television-watching households, has a central presence in British cultural life. It says it is committed to being politically impartial.

Lineker, who played for clubs including his home town Leicester City, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona, is the BBC’s highest paid personality, earning more than 1.3 million pounds in 2021/22. He is yet to comment on his suspension.

Last year the BBC’s complaints unit ruled Lineker had failed to meet editorial standards on impartiality when he sent a tweet asking whether the governing Conservative Party would give back money from Russian donors.

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BBC Chair Richard Sharp is under pressure for failing to declare his involvement in facilitating a loan for former Prime Minister Boris Johnson shortly before he was appointed to the role. His appointment, made on the recommendation of the government, is now being reviewed by Britain’s public appointments watchdog.

-Reuters

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Governing Bodies

Nigeria  becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council

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Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.

The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.

 Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.

He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.

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An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.

He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.

“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”

Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.

“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.

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He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.

“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.

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Ex-FIFA Council member and Mali football chief released from jail

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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.

Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.

He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.

The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.

He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.

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Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.

While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.

-Reuters

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Nigeria Football Federation denies owing late national captain and coach, Chukwu

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.

Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.

The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.

 Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.

“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.

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“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”

Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.

“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”       

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