GARY Lineker has revealed the BBC received a complaint after he mocked Alan Shearer for being bald on Match of the Day.

The presenter made a joke on Saturday's show about a "hair-raising" start to the Premier League – adding "unless of course you're Alan Shearer or Danny Murphy".

Lineker, one of the Beeb's top paid stars, then tweeted to his millions of followers: "The BBC has received a complaint about bald jokes on @BBCMOTD (genuinely).

"Very unfair I feel to call @alanshearer @IanWright0 & Danny Murphy jokes."

A clip of the offending moment shows Lineker's co-hosts Shearer and Murphy exchanging looks and smiling, while Shearer shakes his head.

The BBC refused to comment on how many complaints were made and if they are investigating when contacted by the Sun Online.

However the organisation is obliged within its own guidelines to reply in some form to any complaints.

After Lineker shared a complaint had been made about him, one of his 7.3million Twitter followers wrote: "As a baldy I couldn't care less if someone jokes about my bald head but my sticky out ears that's another subject entirely."

And another supporter added: "Are you being serious the word we living in it's going mad I lost the will to live."

But others were less impressed, tweeting: "Don't try and make a joke out of it Gary. Stick to crisps."

'THE BBC HAS RECEIVED A COMPLAINT'

One of his followers posted: "2019, where everyone is offended by everything. I'm offended that they are offended."

And another joined in on the joke writing: "That's a bald statement @GaryLineker."

However an offended viewer replied saying he had also complained, and dubbed it "absolutely disgusting".

A spokesman for Alopecia UK told the Telegraph that, while Lineker’s joke was likely “jovial in nature and with no malice intended”: "It’s a shame that those in the media still use that platform in a way that reinforces negativity towards hair loss.

“Jokes about anyone’s physical attributes are extremely outdated and this includes ‘banter’ about hair loss."

Lineker's "hair-raising" comment is not the first time he has joked about baldness with his co-host Shearer.

In 2016, he replied to a photograph of himself next to Shearer by writing: "Jeez, my bald spot is nearly as large as yours."

The presenter, who earns between £1,750,000 and £1,754,999, sparked another row earlier this month by suggesting he "must be due a pay rise".

The Match of the Day host was slammed by social media users, who pointed out that his wages could cover the cost of the TV licence for thousands of pensioners.

Former Tottenham and England striker Lineker, 58, was replying to the official account for the footie highlights show as it marked his twentieth season.

He replied: “Christ! 20 years: must be due a pay rise.”

It comes two months after Beeb chiefs said they would be scrapping free TV licences for over-75s, affecting 3.7 million people.

In July, the Corporation was slammed over its £1billion wage bill, with many top stars, including Graham Norton, getting a boost.

Earlier this month we told how BBC chiefs are set to splurge £100m on ads begging millennials to watch more telly.

The massive campaign – equivalent to nearly 650,000 tv licenses and more than Radio 4's entire budget – is expected to be frittered away on social media ads.

Bosses believe the only way to reach Netflix-loving youngsters is to blast them with Facebook ads about new shows.

Source: Read Full Article