AXED Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson has slammed the BBC as “top of the woke league.”
The former Liverpool star was one of their top stars for three decades.
Lawrenson regularly appeared on Match of the Day and Football Focus.
But he was dropped by the BBC when his last one-year rolling contract came to an end in 2022.
Lawrenson, 66, previously claimed that he was dropped for being “65 and a white male”.
And lashing out at his exit today, he claimed the BBC has become a “woke” organisation.
Lawrenson feels the corporation loses “integrity day by day”.
And he also reckons the BBC is “totally frightened to death”.
He told the Ben Heath podcast: “Gone woke, it is top of the woke league.
“They are frightened to death, absolutely and totally frightened to death.
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“You have seen the stuff with Gary Lineker and obviously people at the head of the BBC, I think day by day, I think the integrity of the corporation gets chipped off.
“It used to be absolutely fantastic but they are woke, plus 100 per cent.”
It’s not the first time Lawrenson has hit out at his departure.
Speaking to the Sunday Times in 2022, he raged: “The Beeb are probably the worst at giving you bad news.
“It was just, ‘We are going on the road next season with Focus. We don’t think it is really something for you.’
“I haven’t watched the programme since to see if they have gone on the road.
“They forget you are an ex-footballer and could get subbed or dropped or transferred.
“Somebody could say to me, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not good news.’
“And I would say, ‘OK, just tell me what it is.’
“I just wish they had said to me at the start of my contract last year, ‘You’ve had a great run, thanks very much and you are not working next season.’ ”
Asked what he thinks the true reason behind the exit is, Lawrenson added: “Well, I’m 65 and a white male, so you know…”
The dramatic details in full:
Gary Lineker was suspended by the BBC last year after an impartiality row.
The Match of the Day host wrote a tweet criticising the government’s asylum policy.
Lineker compared new legislation to 1930s Germany.
It breached BBC guidelines over impartiality and saw him suspended for a week.
Lineker returned to action after colleagues protested over the Beeb’s decision.
Viewers also boycotted Match of the Day when it aired without any host or pundits.
Lineker has been at the helm of the show ever since, with the row quickly dying down.
