Match of the Day fans slam "pointless" and "painful" episode as Lineker absent

11 March 2023 , 22:37

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Match of the Day fans slam "pointless" and "painful" episode as Lineker absent

Supporters have slammed the BBC after the corporation aired Match of the Day without a presenter, pundits, commentators or post-match interviews with players and managers.

The broadcaster stood regular host Gary Lineker down from his presenting duties on Friday following a row with Conservative MPs over his criticism of the government's new Illegal Migration bill.

That decision led to Ian Wright and Alan Shearer both withdrawing from their planned appearances on Saturday's show. The six commentators scheduled to cover the day's games also stepped down in solidarity with Lineker, leading the BBC to give Match of the Day a radical makeover.

With the corporation not holding the rights to use world feed commentary and the studio portion of the show cancelled, only highlights of the games was screened. The run-time was slashed from 1hr 19mins to just 19 minutes.

While the programme that actually did go out showcased action from all six of Saturday's games, fans were left furious. Many publicly professed their anger with the BBC for taking Lineker off air.

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"This is pointless already," one wrote. Another added: "MOTD seems so empty without commentary and punditry! Skip!"

Gary Lineker was stood down from his presenting role (The FA via Getty Images)

A third said: "Match of the day isn’t MOTD without commentary, weird." A fourth added their supporter for Lineker, writing: "Just tuned in. Joke. You really have shot yourself in the foot. Gary Lineker well done."

A fifth fumed: "I didn't realise Gary Lineker did the editing of the games and the theme tune as well.. no wonder they pay so well..."

Another added: "No opening theme tune. No commentary. This is rubbish. Switched off." While a seventh concluded: "Lol Match of the day. Not a word, only background fans. This is painful."

The BBC's Director General has already apologised for the disruption caused by the events of the past two days.

"I’m sorry audiences have been affected and they haven’t got the programming," Tim Davie told the BBC. "As a keen sports fan I know to miss programming is a real blow and I’m sorry about that.

"We are working very hard to resolve this situation and make sure we get output on air. Everyone wants to calmly resolve situation. Gary Lineker’s the best in the business - that’s not for debate."

Jacob Leeks