"It was outrageous": Mansfield residents have their say on Gary Lineker's suspension from BBC

Gary Lineker was suspended by the BBC last Friday after he refused to apologise for tweeting criticism of the Government’s bill on illegal migrants.

The row then spiralled out of control after his colleagues refused to work in solidarity with him.

As a result, Match of the Day was broadcast as a 20-minute show without a presenter, pundits or commentary, while Match of the Day 2, the live WSL and 5 Live schedule were also impacted.

Lineker has now been reinstated and hopes to return to business as usual as he presents coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final this coming Saturday evening.

But was the BBC justified in suspending the popular broadcaster over comments made on his Twitter page?

Your Chad reporter Lucy Roberts took to the town’s streets to see what people had to say...

One resident said: “I think they were completely in the wrong. I think Gary is entitled to express his opinion – and that’s all it is, an opinion.

“The BBC seem to have been lent upon by the Conservative government. Their director general is Conservative so when it comes to a question of bias, he’s not exactly able to be completely unbiased.”

Another resident said: “The BBC were wrong to take him off. But it shows you just how much support he got because Alan Shearer – and the other two – they backed him, and so did the one who does the Sunday night Match of the Day.

“Don’t forget it’s the people that vote the Government in, so every member of the public, no matter who they are, whether they are TV presenters, radio or whatever, are allowed to express their opinion.

“All Gary did was made an opinion, so the BBC were out of order and they’ve got away with it. It was outrageous.”

However, not everyone agreed, with one resident choosing to stand by the BBC.

He said: “I should say it was right. Yes, I would. People giving opinions when they are on the air… I mean really it’s a political matter isn’t it.”