Newspaper headlines: BBC faces 'revolt' over Lineker as stars walk out

By BBC News
Staff
Most of Saturday's front pages report on Gary Lineker being told to step back from presenting duties by the BBC over his criticism of language used in the government's new asylum policy. The i reports on Lineker's Match of the Day co-stars deciding to walk-out of Saturday's show in "solidarity".
"Revolt for Lineker" is the Daily Mirror's headline, as the paper reports on pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer's decision to pull out of Saturday's Match of the Day programme. A BBC spokesperson said the show will now "focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry". It follows a tweet earlier in the week where the Match of the Day host compared the language used to launch the government's migrant policy with 1930s Germany.
The Daily Telegraph says the BBC is "facing a backlash" after its decision to make Mr Lineker step down from the programme. The paper reports it "plunged the broadcaster into its latest crisis", as critics are asking why it "made an example of Lineker while Richard Sharp, the chairman, remains in his post despite revelations about his involvement in an £800,000 loan arrangement to Boris Johnson".
"Mutiny at BBC over Lineker red card" is how the Daily Mail sums up the story. The paper reports that Lineker was "dramatically" dropped from the sports programme "for his anti-Tory comments on social media". After the government outlined its plans to ban people arriving in the UK on small boats from claiming asylum, Mr Lineker called it an "immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".
"Beeb's gone too VAR" is the Daily Star's headline, as the paper plays on words - alluding to the video assistant referee used to help referees make decisions during football games.
In its lead, the Guardian reiterates the coverage across most of Saturday's front pages, saying Lineker was suspended after the BBC "insisted his criticism of the government's asylum policies had breached its impartiality guidelines". It calls the broadcaster's decision an "unexpected escalation of a crisis that has been brewing all week".
"Mutiny of the Day" says the Times, as it reports on the BBC being "thrown into a crisis" as Lineker was ordered off air and fellow presenters pulled out in solidarity. The paper goes on to picture Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron after a bilateral summit on Friday where the UK agreed to give France almost £500m over three years to help stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
The Daily Express focuses on the Paris summit - reporting on Rishi Sunak's plans to fund an extra 500 officers and a new detention centre in France, although it will not be fully operational until the end of 2026. The paper notes the the prime minister called it a "big step forward" towards ending the Channel migrant crisis.
The Financial Times features a symbolic picture of Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron, as the UK and France enter what the paper calls a "new chapter" in their hope to tackle illegal migration across the Channel.
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Lineker has hosted Match of the Day since 1999 and is the BBC's highest paid star

Gary Lineker's suspension from Match of the Day dominates most of the front pages.

"Mutiny of the Day" says the Times. The Sun and the Daily Mail also use the word "mutiny" in their headlines.

The Daily Mirror has details of what it calls the "turmoil" inside the programme, with one source telling the paper that "lots of people" are backing Gary Lineker.

People have told the Sun that there is a "meltdown" behind the scenes, with producers unsure how to "get a show out", as the paper puts it.

The Daily Telegraph reports it will be the first time in Match of the Day's 59-year history that it airs without a presenter.

Gary Lineker's career is "hanging by a thread" according to the Mail, which quotes one insider describing the situation as a "proper BBC crisis".

The presenter is accused of being a "man of power" trying to "defy the ref" by Charles Moore in his column for the Daily Telegraph. But, writing in the Guardian, Jonathan Freedland suggests Gary Lineker deserves "admiration" for speaking out against what he calls a "naked injustice".

The i weekend asks whether the BBC's political independence has been called into question, while the Daily Mirror describes the decision to take the host off air as "not only craven, but hypocritical" - saying that Richard Sharp remains the corporation's chairman despite claims of his involvement in arranging a loan for Boris Johnson.

But, there's support from the BBC's position from the Daily Express, which says that Gary Lineker left it with "no choice but to act" and it applauds their "courage" in doing so. The Mail agrees, it says the BBC is right to put him on the bench.

"Militant doctors" are trying to shut down hospitals during next week's NHS strikes, according to the Daily Telegraph. It says they won't tell their bosses if they are walking out, forcing hospital trusts to prepare for the worst. NHS England says it is working hard to mitigate the impact of the industrial action.

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The Daily Express hails what it calls the "extraordinary" deal between Britain and France to stop migrants crossing the Channel. But, beneath a picture of Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, the online paper the Independent questions what the UK gets out of the agreement and asks, "le bromance... but where's le boeuf?".

The Daily Telegraph thinks Mr Sunak has been seduced by President Macron's "Gallic Charm" and just handed over money to help the French police do their job.

The Guardian reports on a survey by the sexual abuse charity, Dignify, that found one in 10 teenagers say they are addicted to pornography.

It says teachers are being left to "pick up the pieces" caused by violent material. One head-teacher tells the paper that they've had to give their staff special training to deal with a large increase in reports of sexual abuse.

And the Times says that the ChatGPT AI progamme has developed a puzzle to as it put it, "keep the humans busy". It says a game developer asked the computer to create something similar to Sudoku - and it came up with Sumplete, which asks players to delete numbers from a grid to make each row and column add up to a target number.