The pundit and former footballer Alan Shearer has revealed he will not be appearing on Match of the Day tomorrow (Saturday, March 11) following the BBC's decision to have host Gary Lineker step back from presenting the programme.
This follows on from the decision of fellow pundit Ian Wright saying he wouldn't appear on the programme in "solidarity" with Lineker.
The situation came about due to an impartiality row over comments Lineker made criticising the government's new asylum policy.
The 62-year-old will step back from presenting the flagship BBC football show until an agreement is reached on his social media use.
The BBC said in a statement that they found Lineker's "recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines".
It added he should "keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies".
However, Sky Sports News have claimed that Lineker has been taken off air because he has refused to apologise for the comments he made.
I was not due to be working on MOTD tomorrow, but if I was, I would find myself taking the same decision that @IanWright0 & @alanshearer have.
— Micah Richards (@MicahRichards) March 10, 2023
In a tweet, they said: "Sky Sports understands that the BBC's statement regarding Gary Lineker was incorrect. Lineker has, instead, been taken off air as he is unwilling to apologise for his social media comments on government policy."
BREAKING: Sky Sports understands that the BBC's statement regarding Gary Lineker was incorrect.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 10, 2023
Lineker has, instead, been taken off air as he is unwilling to apologise for his social media comments on government policy. pic.twitter.com/dwmf86AS9x
How did Alan Shearer respond to this?
Shearer is a regular pundit on Match of the Day, and in response to the BBC's decision on Lineker has said he will not appear on it tomorrow.
In a tweet he said: "I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night."
I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) March 10, 2023
What did Gary Lineker say?
On Tuesday (March 7) Lineker had commented on a Twitter video put out by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, in which she unveiled government plans to stop migrant boats crossing the Channel.
“Good heavens, this is beyond awful,” he wrote.
Responding to the sports broadcaster, another Twitter user described his comment as “out of order”, adding that it was “easy to pontificate when it doesn’t affect you”.
Lineker responded: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries.
“This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”
Was the BBC right to ask Gary Lineker to step back from tonight's Match Of The Day?
Tonight's Match Of The Day will go ahead without a presenter, pundits and several regular commentators after Gary Lineker was told to step back from hosting the BBC show. Lineker, 62, became embroiled in a row over impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum seeker policy with 1930s Germany on Twitter. The broadcaster said 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. But do you agree with what the BBC has done?
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