Match of the Day will run this weekend without pundits, the BBC has said.
Saturday's show will "focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry" after several pundits pulled out. It comes as Alan Shearer and Ian Wright have announced they are boycotting the programme over the BBC’s decision to stand Gary Lineker down from the show.
The broadcaster said on Friday that it had “decided” Lineker would take a break from presenting the highlights programme until an “agreed and clear position” on his use of social media had been reached. Lineker, 62, has been embroiled in a row over impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with 1930s Germany on Twitter.
The announcement by the BBC prompted pundit and former Arsenal striker Wright to tweet that he would not be appearing on Saturday in “solidarity”.
“Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity,” he said.
Former footballer and pundit Shearer followed shortly after, tweeting: “I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.” Retired England goalkeeper Ben Foster and Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling both expressed their support for the move.
Commenting on Shearer’s Tweet, George Lineker, the son of Gary, said “what a man” and then added in a separate Tweet: “RIP MOTD tomorrow.” Former Arsenal and England player Alex Scott, who is a sports pundit for the BBC, has also appeared to rule herself out of presenting the sports programme on Saturday.
Scott tweeted a Gif of US politician Bernie Sanders saying “Nah! Not me” with the caption: “FYI…” Announcing the decision regarding Lineker on Friday, a spokesperson for the BBC said the broadcaster had been “in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. 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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