Alex Scott has pulled out of Football Focus with the BBC have been forced to cancel the program amid their row with Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker. Lineker was told he would not appear on Saturday's broadcast over a tweet where he criticised the government's asylum policies.
It had been suggested that Scott would appear instead of him on the popular football program but she announced that she would not be stepping forward in solidarity with the England legend. She shared a GIF on her Twitter of Bernie Sanders saying "Nah! Not me" with the caption "FYI" in response to the rumours.
According to the Mirror, the ex-Arsenal star has now gone a step further and said she will not host Football Focus. Scott said: "I made a decision last night that even though I love my show and we have had an incredible week winning an SJA for Football Focus that it doesn't feel right for me to go ahead with the show today," tweeted Scot. "Hopefully I will be back in the chair next week."
Kelly Somers was expected to replace Scott but she has also pulled out of all programming. A short statement on Twitter read: "Just to confirm I won't be on BBC television today."
The pair's stance has seen the BBC's football programming thrown into chaos, with the channel forced to take both Football Focus and Final Score off of Saturday's schedule. Scott and Somers are not Lineker's only punditry colleagues to have offered their support amid the row with the BBC. Ian Wright and Alan Shearer have both announced that they will not be appearing on Match of the Day on Saturday.
The former Arsenal man wrote: "Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I've told the BBC I won't be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity." Shearer then followed suit with a similar statement of his own. "I have informed the BBC that I won't be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night," he wrote.
The program is still set to be broadcast but will only consist of highlights of the six Premier League games with no hosts or pundits. Commentator Steve Wilson has already confirmed he and his colleagues will not work on Saturday's Match of the Day. Post-match interviews with players and managers are also expected to not take place after the PFA was consulted ahead of the weekend's games.
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