Farewell Gary Lineker, but why did his departure take so long?

So, Gary Lineker has confirmed his premature departure from the BBC.

The Match of the Day presenter will step down after the final MOTD programme of the season on Saturday and will NOT present the World Cup for the corporation next year.

His time working for the BBC is up and even he finally recognised that he had to go.

The real question is, why did it take so long? Or, to put it another way, why was he not sacked by the BBC years ago?

Perhaps I should declare an interest because for five years from 1985 to 1990 I was director of the Media Monitoring Unit which was set up to highlight political bias on BBC current affairs programmes.

In 2017 I wrote:

For an ex-footballer with no experience of journalism and very little experience of broadcasting, Lineker has made a pretty good job of it.

He's clearly worked very hard to get where he is but that's part of the problem. With [his predecessor Des] Lynam almost every link or joke was seamless. Can you say that of Lineker, many of whose jokes feel a bit forced?

Even his body language – leaning forward, as if a little anxious – feels more urgent and therefore less comfortable than Lynam's more relaxed posture although, to be fair, the latter was usually sitting behind a desk.

But that's not why Lineker is stretching my patience. The truth is I can no longer watch Match of the Day without being reminded of his political views.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but by choosing to work for the BBC Lineker is in a privileged position. Most BBC presenters understand this (even those that work on Newsnight!).

Unlike Piers Morgan, who was almost certainly hired by ITV precisely because of his polarising views and large Twitter following, Lineker's foghorn opposition to Brexit and Trump are in my view a serious distraction.

I don't want to know what the presenter of Match of the Day thinks about the leading political issues of the day. When I think of all the presenters of the past I have no idea who David Coleman or Jimmy Hill voted for or what their position was on the miners' strike, Nixon or the EEC.

Likewise, throughout his long and successful broadcasting career, I had no idea what Des Lynam's political views were. Only in semi-retirement (2013), long after he was a national figure hosting a much loved TV institution, did he come out and endorse Ukip …

Readers may recall that Rod Liddle was sacked as editor of the Today programme for writing an article in the Guardian attacking the Countryside Alliance and people who hunt. Clearly there was one rule for Liddle (in 2002) and another for Lineker in 2017.

The Match of the Day presenter has of course argued that he's not a member of staff, he's freelance. That however is unlikely to be the perception most people have, even the very small number who see him presenting Champions League football on BT Sport.

Consequently he has a responsibility, like all BBC employees (especially those in the public eye), not to draw attention to his political beliefs.

Former Blue Peter presenter and Five Live broadcaster Richard Bacon seems to share Lineker's views on Trump and Brexit. He too is freelance but unlike Lineker his BBC work is far more sporadic these days. He's not on national television every week. It's an important difference.

The fact is, as long as Lineker enjoys a big fat income for presenting a long-running, high profile television programme for a publicly-funded broadcaster, he should abide by the same guidelines as editors, producers and journalists.

Technically it might not be in his contract but Lineker's reinvention as a political protester suggests a poor understanding of the need for impartiality at all levels of the BBC.

Whether it's driven by naivety or arrogance I can't say. Whatever the answer, someone at the BBC should have a little word in those jug-like ears.

See: Gary Lineker, political protester - what would Des Lynam think?

Two years ago, when Lineker was suspended by the BBC following a crass tweet comparing the Conservative Government’s Rwanda policy with 1930s Germany, I revisited the subject:

Lineker may be freelance and work for other broadcasters but he’s the BBC's highest paid presenter, for Christ’s sake, with arguably the biggest profile of any BBC presenter after David Attenborough.

He didn't achieve that profile by presenting programmes on BT Sport or LaLiga TV, who have also employed him. As someone else said yesterday, he has 'BBC' stamped on his forehead and with that comes responsibilities, including the responsibility not to say or tweet overtly political messages while he is being paid by millions of licence payers who are under threat of criminal prosecution if we don't cough up.

I suspect though that many younger people, below the age of 30 certainly, have never purchased a TV licence so arguments about the licence fee being a factor in relation to Lineker's attacks on government ministers go right over their heads.

Part of the problem of course is social media. It must be lovely to enjoy the love and support of millions of followers, but it's an echo chamber. How does Lineker not see that?

So where do we go from here? There are two options:

One, Lineker must accept, like all leading BBC presenters, to abide by the Corporation's guidelines on political tweets and comments. It doesn't matter if he is 'freelance'. It's the perception that matters, not the technicality.

Two, if he can't accept the restrictions of working for the BBC, he should quit. He won't be cancelled or out of work because many commercial broadcasters would love to have him.

If, in his absence, commentators, presenters and pundits like Alan Shearer don’t want to work for the BBC, no problem. Jog on.

A less selfish individual might regret the chaos he has caused these past few days and the hellishly difficult position he has put many of his colleagues in.

They may have downed tools in 'solidarity' but how many have done so in order not to be labelled a 'scab'. There’s no bravery in being part of the herd so there must be mixed feelings, to say the least.

Lineker, meanwhile, can walk into another, probably better paid, job. But can they?

What annoys me, and must annoy some of his BBC colleagues, is why does he expect to be treated differently to most of his fellow BBC sports presenters, past and present?

See: Let’s talk about Gary Lineker

To the above I would merely add: if any of Lineker’s Match of the Day colleagues wish to follow him out the door they are more than welcome to.

When they walked out in sympathy with their mate two years ago they demonstrated zero understanding of the privileged position they enjoy working for the BBC, an organisation funded not by advertising but by a licence fee paid for by the public under threat of prosecution.

No-one is irreplaceable, as Lineker is about to find out. And nor are the pundits, presenters and commentators who walked out with him.

I hope some of them are considering their futures too.

See: Heroes