12 March 2023 , 09:03
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BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has admitted that he would have "loved" to do his usual role on the 606 phone-in after the broadcaster was forced to pull a host of scheduled shows on Saturday.
The BBC's decision to remove Gary Lineker from his role on Match of the Day in the wake of comments he directed at the government's new Migration Bill on social media earlier this week was met with a furious backlash from fans and several of Lineker's colleagues.
And after regular pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer decided against appearing on Saturday's broadcast, other BBC Sport regulars, including Alex Scott and Mark Chapman, refused to go on air in solidarity with Lineker.
After the BBC were forced to pull Football Focus and Final Score, their radio services were also significantly affected by walkouts during the chaotic 24-hour period, with the majority of 5 Live Sport's offerings cancelled.
But Sutton, who co-hosts the 606 phone-in show alongside Robbie Savage, confessed that he was sad to be missing out on carrying out his usual duties in light of the "messy" stand-off between the BBC and Lineker.
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The former Celtic striker tweeted: "There is no 606 tonight. I hope Gary Lineker and the BBC resolve this messy situation and Gary is back on MOTD soon but I’d have loved to have worked on our football phone-in tonight and chatted about football and all of the days' games."
Sutton's tweet preceded a condensed 20-minute offering of Match of the Day which featured no host, no pundits or any commentary. The short highlights show was slammed by fans online after it aired on Saturday night.
Alarmingly for the BBC, they are expecting further disruptions on Sunday. There are four Premier League fixtures scheduled and it appears unlikely that Match of the Day 2, which is usually hosted by Chapman, will go ahead after he pulled out of 5 Live duties on Saturday. There is also believed to be concern over the big WSL game between Chelsea and Manchester United, which is due to be shown live.
BBC general director Tim Davie appeared to offer an olive branch to Lineker on Saturday night when he admitted that his priority was to get the Match of the Day host back on air.
The Corporation chief apologised for any inconveniences caused by Saturday's disrupted schedule, saying: "I’m sorry audiences have been affected and they haven’t got the programming. 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."
He then added that he hoped a resolution could be reached that would see Lineker return to the airwaves. "Everyone wants to calmly resolve [the] situation. Gary Lineker’s the best in the business - that’s not for debate."