The BBC has apologised for the major disruption to planned sports programming this weekend as presenters and pundits throw support behind Gary Lineker.
It was confirmed on Friday that footballer-turned-pundit Lineker, 62, would ‘step back’ from presenting Match of the Day ‘until an agreement is reached on his social media use’.
Lineker had compared the UK government’s language around migrants to the language used in 1930s Germany, on his personal Twitter account, leading to a row with the BBC over impartiality.
A string of pundits have since refused to appear on the BBC show as a result, and Ian Wright threatened to leave the BBC should Lineker be sacked, with the network later confirming Saturday’s MOTD would ‘focus on match action without presentation or punditry.’
Football Focus and Final Score were also cancelled on Saturday, replaced by repeats of Bargain Hunt and The Repair Shop, as more presenters including lead host Alex Scott pulled out.
It appears as though there is more disruption to come, with the BBC issuing a statement insisting it was ‘working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.’
In a statement, a spokesperson said: ‘The BBC will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that.
‘We are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans.’
Sunday’s Match Of The Day was initially thrown into question as pundit Jermain Defoe announced via Twitter that he would not be appearing, writing: ‘It’s always such a privilege to work with BBC MOTD. But tomorrow I have taken the decision to stand down from my punditry duties. @GaryLineker.’
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Mark Chapman had also declined to appear on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sport and Fighting Talk, making it doubtful whether Match Of The Day 2 would happen as he was due to host.
The BBC had first issued a statement confirming Lineker would ‘step back’ from MOTD following ‘extensive discussions’ with him and his team on Friday.
‘We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.
‘The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting Match Of The Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media. When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.
‘We have never said that Gary should be an opinion-free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.’
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