Gary Lineker 'steps back' from BBC Match of The Day - LIVE reaction and updates

Gary Lineker will “step back” from presenting Match Of The Day until he and the BBC have reached an “agreed and clear position” on his use of social media, the broadcaster said.

The presenter 62, has been embroiled in a row over impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with 1930s Germany. A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.

“The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting Match Of The Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media. When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.

READ MORE: Gary Lineker to step back from BBC Match of the Day presenting role amid Twitter controversy

“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 is not yet clear who will stand in for him during Saturday’s edition of Match Of The Day. The row was sparked by his response on Twitter to a Home Office video in which Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled the Government’s plans to stop migrants crossing the Channel on small boats.

The ex-England striker wrote: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. 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.”

Scroll down for the latest updates and reaction.

Read