Jonathan Agnew has scolded ‘Match Of The Day’ presenter Gary Lineker, tweeting that he should “observe BBC editorial guidelines and keep your political views to yourself”.
The former footballer has made no secret of views on Brexit and Theresa May in recent weeks and seemingly unimpressed, Test Match Special host Agnew told him: “I’d be sacked if I followed your example.”
It’s unclear exactly which of Lineker’s tweets have left Agnew disgruntled, but he’s shared numerous political posts recently, particularly as the UK has been plunged into crisis over Brexit:
In another, he remarked on the the fact former England team-mate Peter Shilton was full of praise for Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg:
Within minutes of giving Lineker the telling off, Agnew had received hundreds of replies.
Some jumped to his defence, pointing out Lineker isn’t the first BBC Sport employee to get political.
Another who has done so recently is his fellow TMS presenter Michael Vaughan:
To avoid confusion, he later made clear his own views on the issue.
Back in September, a second of Agnew’s TMS co-hosts shared his verdict on Brexit.
Speaking on ‘Good Morning Britain’, Geoffrey Boycott compared Remainers to “spoilt” children.
“In the old days the teacher would have given them a smack,” he added. “They don’t believe in democracy anymore.
“They just want to keep having a new vote until they get what they want.”
Of course, May would later return the favour and unexpectedly mention Boycott during one of her own press conferences - ending it with an analogy about “getting the runs”. Nope, not the best choice of words.