Lineker apologises during Match of the Day as viewers told to switch to iPlayer

20 August 2023 , 09:59

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BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker (Image: Getty Images)

Gary Lineker issued an apology to Match of the Day viewers as the BBC show was hit with sound issues.

Lineker presented the Premier League highlights show as normal alongside pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy, but he was forced to apologise following highlights of Liverpool's 3-1 win over Bournemouth.

Viewers took to social media to complain about the sound quality of the commentary on the highlights, with one writing: "Just turned on #motd why does it sound like the commentators are in the kitchen making a brew?"

"MOTD commentary sound gone all Dalek?? #MatchOfTheDay #motd #bbcmotd", wrote another. While a third added: "Anyone else's #motd sound like it's being telephoned in just as it's entering a tunnel?"

Lineker then issued an apology and told viewers they could switch to BBC iPlayer where there were no issues with the sound. "We believe we've got one or two problems with the sound," he said.

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"If that's the case then we do apologise and we're working at it as we speak… if you can hear us that is! Apparently it's better on iPlayer. If you want to switch that's up to you but I'm sure we'll get it resolved as quickly as we can."

Lineker was embroiled in controversy last year as the BBC removed him from a Match of the Day broadcast after he compared the government's asylum policy to Nazi Germany on social media.

"Good heavens, this is beyond awful," Lineker wrote. "There is no huge influx [of refugees]. 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."

Fans complained of sound issues during highlights of Liverpool's 3-1 victory over Bournemouth

After the show aired without a presenter, pundits or commentators as Lineker's colleagues stood by him, the BBC lifted his suspension and he has continued to present the show while remaining outspoken on social issues like climate change and immigration.

Reflecting on the incident in April, Lineker told Men's Health Magazine : "When I sent that tweet, it honestly never even crossed my mind that it would lead to where it went. I've worked with refugees' charities for years. So, when I saw the Suella Braverman film, I said I thought it was pretty awful.

"Then the 'stick to football' people weighed in and I replied to one of them, just saying there was no massive influx, the UK takes far fewer refugees than other European countries, this is a cruel policy, and the language used in the debate reminds us of the debate in Germany in the 1930s. I think that is factually accurate.

"The BBC felt they had to do something. The thing is, when the new social media guidelines were brought in, I said fine, but we agreed I would not stop occasionally tweeting about two issues in particular: climate change and refugees. I wasn't prepared to back down on that, especially as I felt and still feel that what I tweeted was fair and true."

Matthew Cooper