The BBC has been accused of "sidestepping" a complaint about a tweet made by the sports presenter Gary Lineker last year mourning the death of a Palestinian footballer who was later revealed to be as a "martyr fighter" for Hamas.
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) said that Lineker failed to correct the "misleading" information in his tweet about the incident, and is escalating the complaint to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit.
It comes as the BBC confirmed on Monday morning that Lineker will return to air this week after a raging controversy over the presenter's tweet comparing the language by the government around migration "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s.”
In December, the Match of the Day presenter lamented the death of a member of a West Bank Palestinian football club, Ahmed Daraghmeh, who was killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers in Nablus.
Mr Lineker tweeted, “How awful” and reposted a tweet that had accused Israeli forces of taking Daragmeh’s life “treacherously".
gary lineker tweet
A tweet posted by Gary Lineker (Photo: Twitter)
It emerged that he had been killed during an attack on Jews who had been visiting the reputed site of Joseph’s tomb.
On its Arabic website, the terrorist group Hamas referred to Daraghmeh as a mujahid, meaning fighter or warrior.
In a post on its website, UKLFI said the BBC had “sidestepped” a complaint made by its chief executive, Jonathan Turner, about the tweet - contrasting it with the recent action taken by the BBC over Mr Lineker's tweet on refugees.
Mr Lineker “did not apologise for or correct the misleading information in his tweet [about the Nablus incident] even though it was drawn to his attention,” UKLFI stated.
Responding to UKLFI, the BBC said, “Gary was not intending to make a political point. We have shared your feedback with him so that he understands your concerns.”
Overnight, Israeli ops in Nablus resulted in the exchange of fire between militants & Israeli forces. One militant,Ahmed Daraghmeh, hailed as a Palestinian soccer star, was killed as he engaged in armed clashes. Below he is holding a weapon w/ other armed individuals and is shot. pic.twitter.com/fDuWIzQtuE
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) December 22, 2022
But Mr Turner wrote back, “Your response does not address the key point, that Mr Lineker did not correct the tweet after he became aware that it was misleading, as required by para 3e of the BBC Guidance on Individual Use of Social Media which states: ‘If you know you’ve got something wrong, do correct it quickly and openly’.”
Previous tweets made by Mr Lineker which had been critical of Israeli policies cast doubt on the suggestion that he had not intended to make a political point, UKLFI argued.
“Even if he [Mr Lineker] did not intend to make a political point, this does not justify failing to correct his tweet, which concerned a sensitive political issue, once he became aware that it was misleading,” Mr Turner argued.
He has now referred his complaint higher up to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit.
Meanwhile, Lineker will return to air this week after being asked to ''step back' during a blazing row over a tweet comparing the language by the government around migration "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 1930s.”
The BBC apologised for its lack of sports coverage over the weekend after pundits and commentators refused to appear while the row was ongoing, and has said that it will launch an independent review into social media requirements imposed on staff who do not cover news or current affairs.
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