Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer said it was “great” to be back at work after the Match of the Day boycott last week.
The BBC took issue with Lineker’s tweet criticizing the UK government, leading them to say he would step back from his role as presenter of the weekly Premier League highlights show.
BBC One
Lineker and Shearer returned to work for the BBC on Saturday
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Lineker was reinstated as a presenter by the BBC after his high-profile row
This led Shearer – along with Ian Wright and a host of other presenters and pundits – to announce they would not be in the MoTD studio as a show of solidarity.
Match of the Day was ultimately cut short to be a 20-minute highlights show with no analysis, commentators or player and manager interviews.
BBC chiefs have finally resolved their issue with Lineker, although he still won’t present the Premier League round-up on Saturday night.
That’s because he and Shearer were at the Etihad Stadium for the BBC’s Live Match of the Day coverage of Manchester City’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Burnley.
And, speaking ahead of the match, the pair were quick to comment on their recent stand-up with the BBC.
Lineker – who looked quite ill as he spoke on air for the first time since his row with the Beeb – introduced Citizens icon Micah Richards as part of their squad for the game, before tell Shearer, “Alan, it’s great to be here.”
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Shearer and a number of other BBC staff showed their support for Lineker last weekend
To which Shearer said, “I just need to clarify and wanted to say how upset we were that all the audiences who missed out last weekend.
“It was a really difficult situation for everyone involved, and through no fault of their own, some really good people on TV and radio were put in an impossible situation.
“And it wasn’t fair, so it’s good to get back to some kind of normalcy and talk about football again.”
Lineker then added: “Absolutely. And I echo those statements.
The former England striker also explained why he did not present Match of the Day that evening, as was always planned.
He said: “For those who missed it and are asking, I presented @BBCMOTDthe FA Cup live game earlier tonight. MOTD tonight was always going to be presented by the brilliant Chapman brand. There will be good replays so you can see what happened and understand the penalties.”
