Gary Lineker asks Twitter owner Elon Musk to intervene after son George is told to 'burn at the stake' following Match of the Day saga
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- Lineker's son faced online abuse
- Was called a 'mug' and threatened to be 'burned at stake'
- Lineker tagged Musk and Twitter to grab their attention
WHAT HAPPENED? The Match Of The Day saga finally came to an end on Monday with Lineker being reinstated as a presenter by BBC. The former England striker had been temporarily relieved of his hosting duties after sending a series of political tweets, but the BBC were forced into a U-turn after a public backlash.
Lineker's son George was among those to stand up for him, and has shared a screenshot of the abuse he received for doing so. The Twitter user in question called George a "mug" and told him he should be "burned at the stake", with Lineker subsequently sharing the post with company owner Musk. The 62-year-old wrote: "Is this acceptable @Twitter @elonmusk? And I don't mean the grammar."
Is this acceptable @Twitter @elonmusk? And I don’t mean the grammar. pic.twitter.com/fCVIIq3we2
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 14, 2023
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lineker's row with the BBC began after he compared the language used in the British government’s asylum policy to that which could be found in 1930s Germany.He was ordered by the BBC to apologise for his actions and stood down from presenting duties after refusing to do so. This led to an unprecedented series of walkouts and there was no commentary across the BBC's weekend football coverage, which forced the broadcaster to review their decision and call him back.
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WHAT NEXT? Musk is yet to respond to Lineker's comment, and it remains to be seen whether any punitive action is taken by Twitter against the user that sent abusive messages to his son George.