Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has messaged Arsenal hero Ian Wright over his decision to step down from punditry duties for Match of the Day in a show of solidarity with BBC Sport presenter Gary Lineker. Lineker has "stepped back" from his presenter role on the show until further notice after the former England international came under fire for comparing the language used by the government in their asylum plans earlier this week to "that used by Germany in the 30s" in a tweet posted on Tuesday afternoon.
A spokesperson from the BBC revealed that Match of the Day will be going ahead, but with no presenters or pundits during the show. “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," they said.
The Premier League has informed the 12 clubs playing matches on Saturday afternoon, along with the LMA and the PFA, that players and managers will not receive requests for Match of the Day post-match interviews. A number of commentators that cover football matches for the BBC on Match of the Day have also stepped down, with the show now expected only to televise highlights from each match using a world commentary feed with no punditry or interviews.
