By Shaun Murphy-
Saturday’s Match of the Day will take place without a studio or commentary is a reflection of immaturity on the part of Lineka’s co-presenters, Ian Right and Alan Shearer.
The two presenters have withdrawn from the programme as a show of solidarity to Lineka.
Right released his own statement on Twitter on the situation, saying: “Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.”
The reaction follows Lineker’s suspension from presenting duties by the BBC over his criticism of language used in the government’s new asylum policy in which the Match of the Day host compared the language used to launch the government’s migrant policy with 1930s Germany.
The tone of Lineka’s language was considered an excessive attack on the Uk government, without sensitivity to the seriousness of the comparison the presenter used to make his point.
The former England star’s controversial recent social media activity is considered a breach of the BBC’s guidelines because of its interference in matters concerning politics by a sports commentator.
Ministers put the BBC under pressure after Lineker posted tweets this week criticising Rishi Sunak’s new asylum policy. He likened the language used by ministers about asylum seekers to “that used by Germany in the 30s”, a comparison labelled “offensive” by the home secretary, Suella Braverman.
Late on Friday, commentator Steve Wilson tweeted that the show’s commentary team had decided to pull out of the programme. “As commentators on MOTD, we have decided to step down from tomorrow night’s broadcast,” he said. “We are comforted that football fans who want to watch their teams should still be able to do so, as management can use World Feed commentary if they wish.”
The BBC has the option to use the Premier League’s world feed service.
A BBC spokesperson said Lineker would be off air until an agreement was reached on his future use of social media. If Lineker, who has two years left on his contract to present Match of the Day, refuses to back down, then it opens up the possibility of him leaving the corporation.
Lineker was taken off air on Friday afternoon despite making it clear that he wanted to host this weekend’s edition of the programme.
A number of players from various clubs have contacted the Professional Footballers Association to express solidarity with the presenter and pundits, but their progressive support for Lineka is believed to be political in their attempt to express their partisanship towards Lineka and against the BBC.
The BBC could arrange for replacements of each of the three presenters, and make a point about its requirement for compliance, but may just go without altogether. Pundits are in no short supply, but whether there is enough time to make such plans is another matter entirely.