[qwerty123]

Is it a major story? The actual details of a government policy are of note. Gary Lineker's opinion of it, however, and whether the nature of his contract prohibits him from publicising his views either way, is of no consequence to me whatever. Sorry, I know everyone else seems to be terribly invested in all this, but I am struggling to care one iota about this 'major story' personally.

It wasn't a major story when they gave it undue prominence on Wednesday.   Now it is a massive story - it shows that the BBC has lost it's independence and has bended to government pressure to take action against an employee who has been critical of government rhetoric.

This feels like a turning point - not for sports broadcasting but for the BBC and potentially the government too having overstretchd their reach.

No it shows the need to act quicker when making these decisions. Suspending Gary is almost certainly the correct decision over those comments which go much further than reasonable criticism of the policy in question but by delaying the decision it has given those who dislike the government the opportunity to undermine it at the expense of the BBC’s reputation.