Gary Lineker arrives at the King Power to watch his boyhood club Leicester face Chelsea after his axing from Match of the Day… which has left the nation’s flagship football show in crisis after mass walkouts
- Chaos has occurred since the BBC axed Gary Lineker from Match of the Day
- Pundits and commentators have all stepped back their roles on the programme
- The axed presenter will watch Leicester’s home clash with Chelsea on Saturday
Gary Lineker has arrived at the King Power to watch Leicester’s home game with Chelsea after being dropped as Match of the Day presenter during a chaotic 24 hours.
The former England captain was stood down from Saturday’s flagship show after the BBC decreed his ‘Nazi’ jibe tweet that compared the Home Office’s immigration policy to 1930s Germany breached impartiality rules.
What followed was effectively a mass boycott that has left the BBC schedule in tatters. Ian Wright and Alan Shearer announced they would not fulfil their punditry roles on Match of the Day, before Mark Chapman announced he would not host Saturday afternoon’s coverage on BBC Radio Five Live.
BBC television’s Football Focus and Final Score were also removed from the regular programming.
Lineker arrived at King Power Stadium roughly an hour before the Foxes’ Premier League clash against Chelsea. The 62-year-old is a lifelong Leicester fan who began his career with the club.
Axed BBC presenter Gary Lineker arrives at the King Power to watch Leicester on Saturday
Ian Wright (centre) and Alan Shearer (right) both confirmed they will not be appear on Match of the Day after Lineker was temporarily dropped from BBC’s popular football programme
Near the King Power Stadium, a pedestrian walks past a sign for Lineker Road – named after the presenter – as Leicester prepare to host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday March 11
Lineker – seen leaving his home on the way to the King Power Stadium – is a lifelong Foxes fan
Chapman, who hosts a number of shows across the BBC’s television and radio networks, including their Saturday afternoon sport coverage on 5Live, Match of the Day Two on Sunday evenings and the Monday Night Club, has become the latest presenter to push back against the BBC’s decision to suspend Lineker.
The row seemed to have calmed down by Thursday however, with Lineker himself tweeting as much. He added that he was looking forward to hosting the BBC’s flagship highlights programme on Saturday evening.
However, in a remarkable turn of events, it was announced on Friday that the broadcaster, who has hosted Match of the Day since 1999, would be stepping back from the programme until an agreement could be reached on his use of social media.
‘The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines,’ the corporation announced.
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