By Jose Ramos
Gary Lineker has never been shy about airing his personal opinions.
The Match of the Day host has ruffled feathers more than once in recent years with his view on migration and the conflict in the Middle East.
It led to criticism in some quarters from viewers who felt he should remain impartial as anchor of one of the BBC’s flagship programmes.
However, fellow England legend John Barnes has seemingly accused his former teammate of remaining silent on one key issue.
John Barnes has accused BBC presenter Gary Lineker of failing to speak out against racism in football
Mr Barnes went on to say that those with a bigger platform, like Gary Lineker, pictured, should be coming out and calling out racism as wrong
The former England playerhas accused the BBC presenter of failing to speak out against racism in football.
Mr Barnes spoke at a Labour Party conference event hosted by the charity Show Racism the Red Card.
The institution uses high profile footballers to campaign against racism.
He said he felt uncomfortable about appearing as a pundit because he was tired of black former players being asked about racism in the game.
He said if people like Gary Lineker ask him about racism he would respond with ‘Don’t ask me what I think. What do you think? Because you are the ones who can make the difference’.
Adding: ‘Don’t ask Micah Richards and Thierry Henry. [Ask] Roy Keane: “What do you think, Roy?”‘
The former Liverpool player said that many high profile white people who speak about sports ‘have a lot of opinions as to everything else’ adding: ‘But when it comes to racism, they haven’t got an opinion. They obviously don’t feel strongly, because they will have an opinion as to other things.’
‘And they do have an opinion. But you know the opinion they’ll have? Most of them have the opinion that it’s not important.’
He went on to tell the Telegraph how those with a bigger platform should be coming out and calling out racism as wrong, and singled out the BBC’s most well-paid presenter.
He said: ‘Now if Gary Lineker is going to say on television that this is wrong and this is why it’s wrong, that is going to carry more weight than a black person saying it.’
Speaking to The Telegraph, Barnes said: “That is his [Lineker’s] bread and butter, talking about football all the time. Talking about racism in football all the time, but not giving an opinion.”
Former Liverpool footballer John Barnes how those with a bigger platform should be coming out and calling out racism as wrong
Gary Lineker has previously dismissed criticism by saying he campaigns on ‘humanitarian issues’
The 63-year-old Match of the Day presenter’s use of social media is often a cause of controversy.
Last year he caused uproar after he shared a post comparing the previous Government’s rhetoric around migration to Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
He was removed from hosting Match of the Day by the BBC but returned after a boycott by pundits and commentators left the corporation running a skeleton-schedule of sports programming.
Mr Lineker has also been a vocal critic of Brexit and has previously backed campaigns for a second EU referendum.
He dismissed criticism that he ‘should stay out of politics’ by saying the topics he speaks out about are ‘humanitarian issues’.
The England football legend condemned what he termed ‘tribality’ in social media and said he found a lack of empathy towards migrants ‘incomprehensible’.
Speaking on podcast Ruthie’s Table 4 he suggested his critics lack empathy.
Mr Lineker has been contacted for a comment.
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John Barnes reveals the key issue he says Gary Lineker and other white pundits need to speak about more
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Publish date : 2024-09-26 02:25:00
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