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The BBC will air Saturday’s Match of the Day (MOTD) without pundit analysis after a host of regular participants dropped out. Gary Lineker was reportedly asked to step back from the show amid ongoing Twitter controversy, with a number of his colleagues refusing to appear this week in solidarity with the former England star.
Lineker’s situation is the subject of intense debate after he likened the government’s asylum policy to Nazi Germany on social media. The 62-year-old is the highest-paid employee at the BBC and has presented MOTD since 1999.
It emerged on Friday that Lineker was set to step back from his presenting duties after days of ‘extensive talks’ to come to an agreement on his social media usage. He was supposedly reluctant to apologise for his remarks.
Upon learning of Lineker’s planned absence, pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright each informed the BBC that they would not partake in Saturday’s show in a display of support for their colleague.
Later that night, a BBC spokesperson 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.”
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