A week after BBCThe sports schedule was severely disrupted by a staff boycott in support of the anchorman Gary Linekerthe host and fellow pundits returned to the screen this weekend.
Lineker did not take his usual position as host of Match of the Day on Saturday night, but stand-in presenter Mark Chapman was quick to tell viewers it was an arrangement scheduled “weeks ago.”
Meanwhile, Lineker was in action at lunchtime, introducing the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley. His fellow pundit Alan Shearer addressing the issue that took them all out last weekend.
“I just need to clear up and say how upset we are with all the viewers who missed out last weekend,” Shearer said. “It’s a really difficult situation for everyone concerned and through no fault of their own, some really good people on TV and in radio have been put in an impossible situation and that’s unfair.
“So it’s good to get back to some kind of normality and talk about football again.”
Lineker added, “Absolutely, I echo those sentiments.”
It follows a turbulent week for the BBC, with director-general Tim Davie flying back from Washington DC to negotiate the return to screen of Lineker, the BBC’s highest-paid presenter.
Lineker was previously suspended for sharing a tweet, in which he commented negatively on the government’s immigration policy. Several BBC presenters and other staff walked out in solidarity.
Davie apologized this week for the “difficult time”, while announcing an independent review of the corporation’s social media guidelines.