Gary Lineker - he really had to go and a warning t against virtue signalling

Thanks. There’s been plenty of protests by football fans against Saudi ownership of clubs but much like the protests against the treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel it has fallen on deaf ears unfortunately.

@CrocsNotDocs I think the Supreme Court had a view on that too! At least it was a football comment.

He didn't just object to the current situation though. That's the whole reason for this debate

Sometimes when I'm feeling down my mind wanders to the sight of Gary Lineker in his shorts, popping the goals in in Mexico '86!

I liked him. I thought he was an inspiration to MPs today with his fulsome and genuine apology. That is how it’s done, not bullshitting.
Reform etc will be crowing, though.

Yes. Football, as an industry (which includes it's customers) can be quite blind when it comes to human rights and the death or even execution of people. For instance, ownership of UK clubs by Saudi Arabia (not known for its sparkling human rights record) and the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of migrant workers who died for a couple of weeks of football in Qatar. Fans choosing to associate themselves with these owners and these events plainly do not care about the death toll, else they would not watch or engage. You may not agree, but that's my view.

Fair enough thank you for answering.

I don't agree with you and feel that anyone can /choose not to use their platform to talk about issues they feel strongly about but I respect your view too.

I will stop addressing posts to you when you say who you are, disgustingly, describing as Hamas apologists.

Yes, i can't see why not. If I have a general point it would be that celebrities who attach themselves to painful or controversial conflicts may do so for the 'wrong' reasons - whatever 'side'. And I'd condemn them, too. But this thread is about Lineker.

Dreadful man, shame on him

Interesting he has stayed out of the pile on.

Louis Theroux is probably a marked man now. Tik tok ...

Well yes obviously most people would have liked to see the ceasefire hold and the hostages released. Of course it would have been a good way to move forward. Israel decided against that and instead they are 'dismantling Gaza, leaving it in ruins with unprecedented destruction, and the world still hasn’t stopped us.' and 'the army is leaving no stone unturned. We are conquering, cleansing and staying in Gaza.' to quote their democratically elected minister.

I'd rather people spoke out about a government that is being open with their plans to 'cleanse' Gaza and apologise if they make a mistake rather than stay quiet or even worse support this. Like this democratically elected minister has said 'the world still hasn't stopped us', they are taking silence as permission.

Ok??

That's not what I asked.
I asked do you think the same judgemental words should be used for those on the other side of the viewpoint or it is just those who object to the current situation.

You were quite vehement in your previous post with your condemnation so I was just asking.

Lineker was a brilliant striker who turned scoring goals into a science (yes, I’m actually old enough to remember) who overcame a lack of formal education to become an outstanding live broadcaster.

He was very naive & poorly advised to publicly comment on Israel / Palestine while working for the BBC, though. Particularly when his understanding of the historical contexts of the conflict is so obviously superficial & simplistic. And that naivety bit him on the arse when he apparently inadvertently used a blatantly antisemitic trope. He has only himself to blame.

@ExpressCheckoutcan you reply to my question please

I think, if you read carefully, you'll find that I didn't express a viewpoint about the conflict, only some observations of his behaviour.

Goodnight.

Israel has steadily undermined and dismissed the authority of international institutions—from the UN, UNRWA, ICC, and ICJ, to the Red Cross and the UN Human Rights Council. That the BBC is now being pulled into this pattern of delegitimization is both predictable and disheartening. The critics were circling Gary long before, merely waiting for an excuse to pounce. That said, he has a large following who will continue to support him, especially as legacy media is in terminal decline anyway.

Why is he a "virtue signaller" , "narcissist ", "selfish" and "not very bright" because he has a view point.

How condescending to say he doesn't understand the history because he doesn't agree with your view point.

Do you use the same words for pro Israeli celebrities who exercise their right to use their platform for their personal views: Rachel Riley , Deborah Messing, Sharon Osborne etc.

Are they also narcissistic virtual signallers?

@ExpressCheckout You make a reasoned assessment, I think.

I've nothing but respect for GL's courage and integrity.

Shame on the BBC.

I hope GL continues to speak out.

he's smart enough to know that football fans don't blink at the death of civilians
What does this mean?

I see that the thread has shifted into the Israel/Hamas conflict, joining the thousand other threads about this here on MN. This thread, I think, was about Mr Lineker and his virtue signalling, and I do think it's possible to carefully tease the issues away from the political debate.

I don't think Lineker has any meaningful understanding of the situation nor its history. He appears to be a narcissist who craves attention at whatever cost. He doesn't appear to be very bright, but he's smart enough to know that football fans don't blink at the death of civilians.

So, the sad fact is, whilst his actions have inflamed further the anger arising from the Israel/Hamas conflict, I suspect Lineker cares as little for Palestinians as he does Israelis. His actions were antisemite, in my opinion, but these were deployed for selfish, narcissistic reasons.

The ire I have is with the BBC who have enabled him to withdraw gracefully and who have not learned from past events. I already had immeasurable levels of disgust with the BBC - an institution I used to love - but one that I now feel needs defunding and breaking up.

I consider that you are hounding me, and I ask you to stop.

I am not hounding you. I am asking who you meant when you used the term “Hamas apologist”