Jurgen Klopp is not a politician nor should he have to be facing questions on social issues, as a football manager, but the boss was asked to comment on the current media storm that is surrounding Gary Lineker, Match of the Day and the BBC.
Speaking with the media, the 55-year-old said: “They asked him to step down for the things he said? So my problem with the situation how I understand it – and I’m not native – is that I cannot see any reason why they would ask anyone to step back for saying that. I can’t. I’m not sure if that’s a language issue or not.
“But that’s the world we are living in. Everybody is so concerned about doing things in the right manner, saying the right stuff to everybody, and if you don’t do that you create a s***storm which we didn’t have when we were young”.
It was a clear backing of the former England striker by the German but also an obvious statement to say that it’s a dangerous world we live in, when free speech is being increasingly blocked.
It’s a crazy planet that we live in when ex-footballers are speaking more sense on world issues than our politicians are but sadly it’s something we’re probably not surprised to see.
You can watch Klopp’s comments on Lineker, Match of the Day and the BBC via @empireofthekop on Twitter:
🗣️"If I understand this right, this is a message about human rights – that should be possible to say."
Jurgen Klopp on the BBC-Gary Lineker controversy 🔴 #LFC pic.twitter.com/LNSbCKVxig
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) March 11, 2023
It isn’t a free speech issue. It is an issue of Lineker’s position as a BBC employee. Lineker can say whatever he wants as a private citizen, but as an employee of the BBC presenting football he shouldn’t have a stance on anything except football. He can give up his income at the BBC and work for Sky Sports et al and say whatever he likes on Twitter. But because the BBC is funded by the license fee payer, balance is extremely important. And the best way to have balance at the BBC is for him to have no public opinion whatsoever outside of football. Personally, I would end the BBC and let people that work for private organisations say what they like out of their working hours.