The BBC found itself at the centre of a crisis of its own making on Friday after its decision to suspend Gary Lineker from Match of the Day presenting duties sparked an almighty backlash.
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 publicly-funded broadcaster said they had “decided that he will step back” after holding “extensive discussions” with him.
A BBC spokesperson said: "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."
Lineker reached out to Channel 5 to reject the idea the decision had been taken mutually, saying: "They've told me I have to step back."
On Friday night the BBC made the call to change the make-up of the show, after failing to find any presenters or pundits to work on Saturday. A BBC spokesperson said: “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.”
Late on Friday there was the possibility of even further ramifications, with the show's commentators considering joining their colleagues in boycotting Saturday's programme. Meanwhile, the Professional Footballer's Association has told its members it will support players who do not want to fulfil their media duties as an act of solidarity with Lineker.
Here Mirror Football runs down the pundits and presenters who pulled out of Match of the Day and plunged the BBC into crisis.
Ian Wright
Wright is a regular on the BBC's flagship highlights programme, but said he would stand alongside Lineker in solidarity by not working on Saturday evening's show.
He tweeted: "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
Shearer made the same decision. He tweeted: "I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night."
Alex Scott
Scott, who has appeared on Match of the Day as a pundit and presented Football Focus, tweeted a GIF of Bernie Sanders saying "Nah! Not me" in an apparent response to people suggesting she might fill Lineker's role on Saturday. The former Arsenal star then confirmed that she would also be stepping back from her Football Focus hosting duties.
Micah Richards
Richards tweeted: "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."
Jermaine Jenas
The One Show presenter was installed as the bookies favourite to take over from Lineker, but ruled himself out on Friday night. He tweeted: "Been on air with the one show. I wasn’t down to be doing match of the day tomorrow, but if I was I would of said no and stood with my fellow pundits and @GaryLineker."
Mark Chapman
Chapman is no longer active on social media, but the Daily Mail have reported that the Match of the Day 2 presenter and BBC Radio 5 Live regular has ruled himself out of taking Lineker’s place.
Dion Dublin
A regular feature on Match of the Day and BBC Radio Five Live, the former Premier League striker has confirmed that he will not be on the air on Saturday. A tweet read: "In Solidarity with my BBC Sport colleagues NO 5live for me today!"
Jason Mohammad
Mohammad could potentially have been an option to appear as Match of the Day host but has confirmed that he too will not be working. A statement read: "As you know, Final Score is a TV show very close to my heart. However - I have this morning informed the BBC that I will not be presenting the show this afternoon on BBC One."
Jermain Defoe
On Saturday afternoon the former England striker confirmed that he would not be appearing as a pundit on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday evening. He tweeted: "It’s always such a privilege to work with BBC MOTD. But tomorrow I have taken the decision to stand down from my punditry duties. @GaryLineker."
Marc Webber
The impact of the BBC's decision does not end at pundits or hosts - Match of the Day commentators also taking a step back with other colleagues expected to follow suit.
How we got here
The controversy started earlier on Tuesday on Twitter. Responding to a tweet from the Home Secretary outlining plans to stop migrants crossing the English Channel on boats which claimed the United Kingdom is "overwhelmed", Lineker wrote: "Good heavens, this is beyond awful."
He later added: "There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the '30s."
The Mirror has launched a petition to have Gary Lineker reinstated at the BBC and as the host of Match of the Day. Sign it here.
Lineker, who has 8.7m followers on Twitter, is known for speaking out about political issues. He made headlines in November when he fronted the BBC's coverage of the World Cup, which drew attention to the human rights problems in host country Qatar.
After his comments spark a debate, which drew in politicians, the BBC felt the need to act. The broadcaster, which employs Lineker on a freelance basis, felt his comments breached their impartiality guidelines.
