Alex Scott’s solidarity with Gary Lineker sees her ‘pull OUT of presenting Football Focus’ today

The BBC was today plunged into one of the deepest crises in its history as big-name stars walked out and shows were cancelled after the corporation told Gary Lineker to step down from Match Of The Day after he compared the Government’s asylum policy to that of 1930s Nazi Germany.

Football Focus and Final Score were hurriedly replaced by old episodes of Bargain Hunt and The Repair Shop after hosts Alex Scott, Kelly Somers, and Jason Mohammad refused to take to the airwaves in solidarity with the former England star. 

Radio 5 Live’s schedule was also wrecked as their main Saturday football presenter Mark Chapman pulled out alongside Colin Murray, and pundit Dion Dublin, forcing the replacement of 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk with old football podcast episodes.

Lineker was all smiles but tight-lipped as he left his London home this morning, as fellow MOTD star Ian Wright – who also refused to appear on TV tonight – said: ‘If the BBC get rid of Gary Lineker, I’m out, I’m gone.’

Ex- director-general Greg Dyke said the corporation had blundered in ordering the ex-footballer off the show, adding: ‘I suspect this is the end of Gary Lineker as a BBC presenter’.

Gary Lineker is seen outside his London home today after fellow presenters and walked out of today’s BBC’s football coverage in a show of solidarity

Alex Scott is a recognisable face on the BBC's sports coverage and her absence creates another issue for the broadcaster to solve

Alex Scott is a recognisable face on the BBC’s sports coverage and her absence creates another issue for the broadcaster to solve

Mark Chapman will not head up BBC Radio 5 Live's football coverage today

Mark Chapman will not head up BBC Radio 5 Live’s football coverage today

In pulling out of today’s scheduled programming, Alex Scott Tweeted that broadcasting Football Focus today ‘just doesn’t feel right.’

She wrote: ‘I made a decision last night that even though I love doing football focus and we have had an incredible week winning an SJA award that it just doesn’t feel right going ahead with the show today. Hopefully I will be back in the chair next week…’

Somers, who was tipped to replace Scott for the lunchtime programme, also said: ‘Just to confirm I won’t be on BBC television today.’ 

To add to the chaos, Final Score host Jason Mohammad then tweeted that he was also to take part in the mass walk-out. The Welsh presenter wrote: ‘As you know, Final Score is a TV show very close to my heart.

‘I have this morning informed the BBC that I will not be presenting the show this afternoon on BBC One.’

Both programmes have since been removed from scheduling on the BBC iPlayer website. Football Focus will instead be replaced by Bargain Hunt, and The Repair Shop will broadcast instead of Final Score.

Presenters Mark Chapman and Colin Murray have also walked out of their scheduled programming today.   

Murray said: ‘No Fighting Talk today, for obvious reasons.

‘In the interest of transparency, this was a decision taken by the entire FT team and myself. Bob Mills was still up for it, to be fair ;).’ 

Football pundit Dion Dublin said ‘No 5live for me today’ as a mark of solidarity with BBC Sport colleagues amid the broadcaster’s impartiality row with Gary Lineker.

At 12pm, when 5Live’s football coverage was due to start, the broadcast was instead replaced by old episodes of the Footballers’ Football Podcast with Ricky Haywood-Williams, Michail Antonio and Callum Wilson.

Despite the turmoil across other programming, this evening’s Match Of The Day will still go ahead but without a presenter or pundits.

The BBC said the show would ‘focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry’, saying it understood the position of its presenters. 

It comes as the Premier League informed clubs that players and managers would be stood down from their post-match Match of the Day and BBC TV commitments during a chaotic Friday night.

Fighting Talk presenter Colin Murray said he will not appear on Radio 5Live today

Fighting Talk presenter Colin Murray said he will not appear on Radio 5Live today

 

Kelly Somers Tweeted that she will not be appearing on the BBC today

Kelly Somers Tweeted that she will not be appearing on the BBC today

 

Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad said he has informed the BBC that he will not be presenting on BBC One this afternoon

Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad said he has informed the BBC that he will not be presenting on BBC One this afternoon

Gary Lineker (pictured outside his him yesterday) will not present Match Of The Day this evening after BBC bosses made the decision to pull him from the air

Gary Lineker (pictured outside his him yesterday) will not present Match Of The Day this evening after BBC bosses made the decision to pull him from the air

Match of the Day has been thrown into chaos in the wake of Lineker's suspension of duties

Match of the Day has been thrown into chaos in the wake of Lineker’s suspension of duties

This presenter shake-up is the latest in a string of walk-outs since the BBC’s much-debated call to suspend Lineker.

Lineker’s colleagues Ian Wright and Alan Shearer were among the first to confirm they would not be appearing on this evening’s broadcast on Match Of The Day.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright said last night: ‘Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.’

Alan Shearer also announced: ‘I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.’  

Alex Scott then followed them in refusing to appear on the flagship football show. She tweeted a short meme which showed US politician Bernie Sanders saying ‘Nah! Not me.’ 

Jermaine Jenas – regarded as an eventual successor to Lineker – said he was not due to be on tonight but would have boycotted the show.

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards also backed Wright and Shearer’s decision to boycott the BBC show.

‘I was not due to be working on MOTD tomorrow, but if I was, I would find myself taking the same decision that @IanWright0 & @alanshearer have,’ he tweeted.

The BBC announced their plan to host the show without pundits in the wake of this news late last night.

Regular Match of the Day commentator Steve Wilson said he and other talking heads have vowed not to participate in the next programme.

He said: ‘As commentators on MOTD, we have decided to step down from [Saturday] night’s broadcast.

‘We are comforted that football fans who want to watch their teams should still be able to do so, as management can use World Feed commentary if they wish.’

He added: ‘In the circumstances, we do not feel it would be appropriate to take part in the programme.’

The statement was shared by MOTD commentators including Steve Wilson, Conor McNamara, Robyn Rowen and Steven Wyeth. 

The presenter hinted a speculation that she would take over MOTD with a straightforward no

The presenter hinted a speculation that she would take over MOTD with a straightforward no

The broadcaster has been thrown into turmoil and must contend not only with decisions over its impartiality position, but a growing void of presenting slots to fill. 

But the BBC’s issue may extend beyond their own employees, with Jurgen Klopp leading a managers and players boycott of the broadcaster this weekend. 

The Premier League has now let those from the 12 clubs playing on Saturday that MOTD will not request post-match interviews with managers or players. 

Sportsmail believes this absence only extends to television coverage, and that usual access will be provided to BBC 5 Live.

PFA Spokesperson said on the decision: ‘We have been informed that players involved in today’s games will not be asked to participate in interviews with Match of the Day.

‘The PFA have been speaking to members who wanted to take a collective position and to be able to show their support for those who have chosen not to be part of tonight’s programme.

‘During those conversations we made clear that, as their union, we would support all members who might face consequences for choosing not to complete their broadcast commitments.

‘This is a common sense decision that ensures players won’t now be put in that position.’

Speaking on the saga to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, former direction-general Greg Dyke said the broadcaster has ‘undermined its own credibility’ by taking Gary Lineker off air.

Greg Dyke, the BBC chief between 2000 and 2004 and a former FA chairman, said the broadcaster was ‘mistaken’ in standing Lineker down.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the precedent at the corporation is that ‘news and current affairs employees are expected to be impartial and not the rest’.

‘If you start applying the rules of news and current affairs to everybody who works for the BBC, where does it end?’, he said.

He added: ‘There is a long-established precedent in the BBC that is, that if you’re an entertainment presenter or you’re a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same (impartiality) rules.

‘The real problem of today is that the BBC has undermined its own credibility by doing this because it looks like – the perception out there – is that the BBC has bowed to Government pressure.

‘And once the BBC does that, then you’re in real problems.

‘The perception out there is going to be that Gary Lineker, a much-loved television presenter, was taken off air after Government pressure on a particular issue.’

Former England footballers and Match Of The Day regulars including Alan Shearer and Ian Wright announced on Friday that they would be boycotting the show in solidarity with Lineker.

Several of the show’s commentators also said they would be stepping down from Saturday’s broadcast.