BBC probe discrimination complaints after Gary Lineker joked about bald Match of the Day pundits with £1.75m-a-year host saying Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy couldn’t experience the new season’s ‘hair-raising start’
- The BBC are probing discrimination complaints against presenter Gary Lineker
- Lineker confirmed the complaint on Twitter over his treatment for bald pundits
- The Match of the Day host joked that pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy could not experience the new Premier League season’s ‘hair-raising start’
- Lineker is the BBC’s top earner with an annual salary of around £1.75million
Gary Lineker has found himself under scrutiny after the £1.75million-a-year presenter received complaints after aiming ‘bald jokes’ at Match of the Day pundits Danny Murphy and Alan Shearer.
The comment which appears to have generated the complaints came when Lineker discussed a ‘hair-raising’ start to the Premier League season – ‘unless of course you’re Alan Shearer or Danny Murphy’.
A clip of the moment, posted on the BBC Sport Twitter account, shows Lineker’s colleagues, Shearer and Murphy, looking at each other and smiling, while the former Newcastle striker shakes his head.
A complaint has been made against Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker over ‘bald jokes’ he made live on television towards pundits Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy (far right)
![Shearer (left) and Murphy (right) appeared to laugh off the quip from Lineker during the show](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/21/10/17514302-7378345-Shearer_left_and_Murphy_right_appeared_to_laugh_off_the_quip_fro-a-1_1566378661782.jpg)
Shearer (left) and Murphy (right) appeared to laugh off the quip from Lineker during the show
The clip has been watched more than 100,000 times but to some, the comments were distasteful and complaints were lodged against the show’s host.
Lineker, who is the corporation’s top earner with an annual salary of between £1,750,000 and £1,754,999, appeared to poke fun at the complaint on his own Twitter account.
He wrote: ‘The BBC has received a complaint about bald jokes on @BBCMOTD (genuinely).
‘Very unfair I feel to call @alanshearer @IanWright0 & Danny Murphy jokes.’
![The clip of the 'jokes' from Match of the Day has been viewed more than 100,000 times](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/21/10/17514420-7378345-The_clip_of_the_jokes_from_Match_of_the_Day_has_been_viewed_more-a-2_1566378701867.jpg)
The clip of the ‘jokes’ from Match of the Day has been viewed more than 100,000 times
Lineker’s ‘hair-raising’ comment is not the first time he has joked about baldness with his co-host Shearer.
In 2016, he replied to a photograph of himself next to Shearer by writing: ‘Jeez, my bald spot is nearly as large as yours.’
In a response to news of the complaint against Lineker’s comments, a spokesman for Alopecia UK said: ‘It’s a shame that those in the media still use that platform in a way that reinforces negativity towards hair loss.
‘We increasingly hear from more and more men who struggle with hair loss.
‘In today’s society, it seems that jokes about bald men are more acceptable than jokes about bald women or children and this can lead to men with hair loss feeling they are not supported when they struggle to come to terms with their change in appearance.
![Lineker is the BBC's top earner and he says he feels the complaint against him is 'very unfair'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/08/21/08/17514430-7378345-image-a-11_1566371398419.jpg)
Lineker is the BBC’s top earner and he says he feels the complaint against him is ‘very unfair’
‘Jokes about anyone’s physical attributes are extremely outdated and this includes ‘banter’ about hair loss.’
However, they also noted that Lineker’s joke was ‘jovial in nature and with no malice intended’.
The BBC’s internal guidance states: ‘At the BBC we are committed to reflecting and representing the diversity of the UK.
‘The BBC is for everyone and should include everyone whatever their background.’