Gary Lineker challenges Elon Musk and Twitter over threats to son

The presenter was reinstated as host of Match Of The Day on Monday following a mass walkout of BBC pundits.

Gary Lineker challenged Twitter and Elon Musk over a threatening message sent to his son in the wake of his row with the BBC.

The presenter, who was reinstated as host of Match Of The Day on Monday, shared a screenshot of a private message sent to his son George by a user.

The message read: “Your a mug how dare you stick up for what your s***house of a dad said you need to be burned at the stake.”

Lineker wrote: “Is this acceptable @Twitter @elonmusk? And I don’t mean the grammar.”

It comes after Lineker was last week told to temporarily step back from hosting Match Of The Day, after he compared the language used to launch a new Government asylum seeker policy with that of 1930s Germany.

The 62-year-old spoke out after home secretary Suella Braverman announced her “stop the boats” policy which included the removal of anti-slavery protection laws for those who enter the UK under illegal routes.

His son, George, displayed his support amid the row, saying: “Proud of the old man after a busy few days.

“Shouldn’t need to apologise for being a good person and standing by his word.

“The reaction of the public has been overwhelming. Thanks for the support.”

Lineker was reinstated as host on Monday following public backlash directed at the BBC, and a mass walkout of other sports pundits on the corporation’s television and radio programming.

The broadcaster’s director-general apologised and announced an independent review of the BBC’s guidance on social media usage, particularly for freelancers.

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