BBC’s Match of the Day has been thrown into chaos.
Pundits have boycotted the show in “solidarity” with Gary Lineker, after he was asked to step back from presenting.
The decision to ask Gary to step away from the show were made during talks over his criticism of government asylum policy.
The BBC have suspended Gary Lineker until he apologies and agrees not to post anything critical about the Government on Social Media.
If you stand with Gary Lineker against the Government and the BBC. RT and Like this post to show your support for him. pic.twitter.com/SR7wPub5ga
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) March 10, 2023
BBC said it considered Gary’s “recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines”, adding that it had been “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”.
Match of the Day commentators Steve Wilson, Conor McNamara, Robyn Cowen and Steven Wyeth shared a joint statement, in which they said they “do not feel it would be appropriate to take part in the programme” on Saturday.
It read: “We are comforted that football fans who want to watch their teams should still be able to do”, adding that alternative commentary was available to be used on the show.
It has been reported that football legends Alan Shearer, Alex Scott and Ian Wright have also pulled out of Saturday’s show.
BREAKING: Alex Scott has pulled out of presenting Saturday’s edition of Football Focus in a fresh show of support for Gary Lineker.
The BBC show, due to air at midday, will instead be hosted by Kelly Sommers.https://t.co/Qi5128LAmk
— Metro (@MetroUK) March 11, 2023
In response to the pundits’ boycott, BBC said it would air the fan-favourite TV show “without studio presentation or punditry” and instead “focus on match action”.
A spokesperson for BBC later said: “Some of our pundits have said that they don’t wish to appear on the programme while we seek to resolve the situation with Gary.”
“We understand their position and we have decided that the programme will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry.”
