Gary Lineker is a major critic of the Conservative government in Britain. The cult footballer doesn’t mince his words in other respects either. But this time the presenter and BBC expert finally overshot the mark. The Twitter icon criticized the new asylum law passed by the British government. For this he chose the Nazi comparison and thus downplayed the serious crimes of the Third Reich.
Critics accused Lineker of being out of his mind. To which the ex-footballer countered: “This is an immeasurably cruel policy, targeting those most at risk, in language not dissimilar to that of Germany in the 1930s, and am I out of my mind? ”
The broadcaster has meanwhile reprimanded the moderator and distanced itself from the statements. The public broadcaster announced on the night that Lineker was reminded of “his responsibility”. Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay told Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper that the BBC pundit’s comment was “lazy, ill thought out and shameful”. He also called for Lineker (62) to be fired.
In the new asylum law, it was decided that the British government would initially hold migrants who enter the country without official permission in shelters. They will then be deported to Rwanda or other countries. The migrants should be deprived of the right to apply for asylum. However, the plans could violate the European Convention on Human Rights. British Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke of an “invasion” as the number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel increased.
It’s not the first time Lineker has attacked the Conservative government. The former striker has 8.6 million followers on Twitter. He is also the highest-paid BBC presenter with a base salary of the equivalent of 1.51 million euros.