Description
Saturday's Match of the Day will take place without a presenter, pundits and several regular commentators, following the fallout from Gary Lineker's withdrawal from the BBC show. Former English footballers and MOTD regulars, including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, had previously announced that they would boycott the show, in solidarity with Lineker. On Friday night, several of the show's commentators shared a joint statement online, announcing that they would also be leaving the Saturday show.
"As MOTD commentators, we have decided to withdraw from tomorrow night's show," the statement read.
“We are sure that football fans who wish to watch their teams can still do so, as management can use the World Feed comments if they wish.
"However, given the circumstances, we do not believe it is appropriate to participate in the program."
The statement was shared by MOTD commentators including Steve Wilson, Conor McNamara, Robyn Rowen and Steven Wyeth.
In an earlier statement, the BBC said the show would "focus on match action without an introduction or studio experience", saying it understood the position of its presenters.
It comes after Lineker, 62, tangled with impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new government policy on asylum seekers to 1930s Germany on Twitter.
The broadcaster said it had "decided" that Lineker would take a break from hosting the featured show until a "clear and agreed position" was reached on his use of social media.
Earlier, BBC director-general Tim Davie, who warned staff against using social media when he took over at the end of 2020 before guidelines on its use were updated, said BBC News asked him why. Lineker had not been fired.
Mr Davie responded: "Well, I think we always looked to take proportionate action and that's what we did."
He said he wouldn't add anything to the company's current statement on the subject, but that there had been "very constructive discussions."
Reacting to Shearer and Wright's boycott, the BBC chief added: "I absolutely respect the right of people to make this decision, and BBC Sport should regard the program they will produce over the weekend as normal."
The Daily Express reported that a group of 36 Conservative MPs and peers had signed a letter to Mr Davie demanding a full and independent investigation into Lineker's comments and a full "unreserved" apology from the presenter.
Ahead of the BBC announcement, former Manchester City defender Micah Richards and former footballer Jermaine Jenas, who were not due to appear on MOTD this weekend, also backed their fellow pundits.
The PA news agency understands that the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) will fully support any player who does not wish to fulfill his media duties to the BBC after Premier League matches in solidarity with Lineker and the other experts, who are former England internationals. players
Several players contacted the PFA for advice, and the union then spoke to all Premier League clubs to come up with a collective position.
An online petition calling for Lineker's reinstatement, organized by the Daily Mirror on Friday, reached 100,000 signatures in less than 10 hours.
Announcing Lineker's decision on Friday, a BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster had had “extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We said we consider his recent activity on social media a violation of our guidelines."
They continued: “The BBC have decided that they will stop presenting Match Of The Day until we have a clear agreed position on their use of social media.
"When it comes to directing our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.
"We've never said that Gary should be a no-opinion zone, or that he can't have an opinion on issues that matter to him, but we've said that he should refrain from taking sides on political issues or political controversies."
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said "individual cases" were a BBC matter.
Former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, who was reprimanded by the BBC for sharing a tweet the company deemed "controversial", said the reaction was "out of control" for the company.
Retweeting Friday's statement shared by MOTD commenters about his boycott, he wrote: "It's getting out of hand for the BBC now."
Maitlis's co-host on The News Agents podcast, Jon Sopel, also a former BBC employee, described the fallout as "unbelievable".
"So the BBC launched a war with no battle plan," he tweeted.
Elsewhere, the Labor Party condemned the company's "cowardly decision" to resign Lineker as "an attack on free speech in the face of political pressure."
A party source also said: “Conservative politicians who push for people to be fired for disagreeing with government policies should be ridiculed, not praised. The BBC should reconsider its decision.
Philippa Childs, director of Bectu, which represents thousands of BBC staff, said Lineker's decision was "deeply worrying" and "will make it look like they caved to political pressure from ministers."
The dispute was first sparked by Lineker's Twitter response to a Home Office video in which Home Secretary Suella Braverman revealed the government's plans to prevent migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The former England striker wrote: "There is no mass influx. We are accepting far fewer refugees than other major European countries."
"It is simply an immeasurably cruel policy directed against the most vulnerable people in language not unlike that used by Germany in the 1930s."
Current BBC guidelines state that staff should follow editorial guidelines and editorial oversight on social media in the same way as when creating content.
Lineker is a freelance BBC broadcaster, not a permanent staff member, and is not responsible for news or political content, so he does not need to adhere to the same impartiality rules.
Despite this, last year he was named the BBC's highest-earning on-air talent for the fifth year running. He was paid between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in 2021/2022 for MOTD and Sports Personality of the Year.
PA wire
Access
