Gary Lineker news – live: Match of the Day star says ‘great to be here’ as he returns to BBC

independent.co.uk:

Gary Lineker said it was “great to be here” as he returned to the BBC after he was forced off-air last week in a scandal over his comparison of the government to the Nazis over its use of language regarding asylum seekers.The Match of the Day star returned to the screen to present live coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley this evening, having been suspended last week over his comments.As the pre-match coverage began, Mr Lineker’s co-presenter Alan Shearer addressed the row, saying “how upset we were about all the audiences who missed out” after Match of the Day went ahead with no presenters.He went on: “It was a really difficult situation for everyone concerned.

Through no fault of their own some really great people in TV and radio were put in impossible situations and that wasn’t fair.“It’s good to get back to normality and talk about football again.”Mr Linker said: “I echo those sentiments.”Gary Lineker returned to television screens on Saturday evening and, alongside fellow pundit Alan Shearer, addressed the situation last week which saw viewers faced with a wordless flagship football programme.The BBC presenter was stood down from Match of the Day last weekend following his tweets on the UK government’s immigration policy.Fellow pundits then followed him in opting against appearing on screen in solidarity, before a resolution was found during the week leading to Lineker and his team being reinstated for an FA Cup clash.A prerecorded introduction saw Lineker’s first words highlight Vincent Kompany’s return to the Etihad Stadium, now as head coach of the visitors, before Lineker - seemingly struggling with a slight lack of voice - handed over to Shearer in-studio.Shearer then spoke