BBC director general Tim Davie has issued a grovelling apology after the corporation's decision to suspend Gary Lineker sparked an almighty backlash which decimated their sports schedule.
Lineker has been taken off the flagship football highlights programme after describing the government's new Migration Bill as "beyond awful" and saying the language in it is “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s."
The BBC said in a statement that had “decided that he will step back” after holding “extensive discussions” with him. Lineker then made it clear that the decision was not mutual.
Lineker's refusal to agree to apologise or agree to tone down his opinions on social media saw many of his colleagues stand in solidarity with him. Match of the Day on Saturday has been reduced to a 20-minute highlights show with no presenter, pundits or commentary after many people who normally work on the show refused to appear.
Davie has now given an interview to his own company in which he claimed the BBC is trying to resolve the issue. He said he would not resign from his role and promised to find an amicable solution with "best in the business" Lineker.
"I’m sorry audiences have been affected and they haven’t got the programming," 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."
He added: "Everyone wants to calmly resolve situation. Gary Lineker’s the best in the business - that’s not for debate."
The BBC's original statement on Friday read: "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. 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."
After Alan Shearer, Ian Wright and a whole host of their colleagues refused to appear on Match of the Day, the BBC was forced to cut the programme back to the bare bones. The show, which normally runs for an hour and 20 minutes, will be just a 20-minute shadow of its former self on Saturday.
“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. We understand their position and we have decided that the programme will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry," a BBC statement read.
Football Focus and Final Score were also pulled from the schedule after presenters, pundits and reporters all stood down in solidarity with Lineker. Meanwhile, BBC Radio 5 Live operated at a reduced capacity during the football on Saturday afternoon.
