BBC announce Saturday’s Match of the Day will have no presenter or pundits following Gary Lineker decision

Saturday’s Match of the Day show will have NO presenter or pundits after deciding Gary Lineker was to take a ‘step back’ from his role.

The BBC took exception to Lineker criticising the UK government over their new asylum policy, where he likened the language of the bill to that of 1930s Germany.

In response, usual MOTD pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer took to social media to announce they won’t be in the studio as a sign of solidarity.

BBC presenter Alex Scott then ruled herself out of replacing Lineker, while pundits Jermaine Jenas and Micah Richards, who often appear on Match of the Day 2, stated they also wouldn’t be prepared to step in.

And the BBC have now taken the drastic decision in stating that Saturday night’s programme will just show the highlight’s of tomorrow’s top-flight action.

There will be no analysis of the games, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea all in action.

A statement from a BBC spokesperson read: “Some of our pundits have said 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 on punditry.”