10 March 2023 , 22:28
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Match of the Day has been plunged into a fresh crisis with the show's commentators now threatening to join a strike led by Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.
The legendary pundits have announced they will not feature on Saturday's show after Gary Lineker was stood down by the BBC. That was in response to the Leicester legend being dragged into a row over the Conservative government's new migrant laws.
Now BBC bosses are facing further headaches with The Times reporting Match of the Day's commentators are considering boycotting Saturday's show. Emergency talks are now said to be being held with union representatives.
With Wright, Shearer, Alex Scott, Jermaine Jenas and Micah Richards all announcing they would not be taking part in Saturday's show, BBC Sport bosses have already been forced into a radical change. It was announced on Friday that the programme would not feature studio presentation or punditry.
A 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.
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"We understand their position and we have decided that the programme will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry."
Gary Lineker has been stood down from presenting Match of the Day (The FA via Getty Images)Earlier in the day, the corporation announced that Lineker had been taken off air following his row with Tory MPs over his opposition to the government's migration bill. A spokesperson said: "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 BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting Match of the Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media. When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.
The Mirror has launched a petition to have Gary Lineker reinstated at the BBC and as the host of Match of the Day. Sign it here.
"We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies."
That led to a furious reaction from their on-air talent, with Wright and Shearer among those to pull out from appearing. Now they face further trouble, with the programme set to air without commentators if that group does indeed decide to strike.
BBC Director General Tim Davie hinted the show would air as normal when he was quizzed on the day's events. he told BBC News: “I absolutely respect peoples’ right to make that decision and BBC Sport have to look at the programme they’re going to produce on the weekend, as normal.”
Clearly though, Saturday's show will be far from normal.