Gary Lineker row: No presenter or pundits for Saturday’s Match Of The Day

Match Of The Day, the BBC's flagship soccer programme, will “focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry” after several former footballers pulled out of the show.

Alan Shearer and Ian Wright announced on Friday their boycott following the BBC saying it had “decided” Gary Lineker would take a break from presenting the highlights programme until an “agreed and clear position” on his use of social media had been reached.

In response to them not appearing, 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.”

The PA news agency understands the Professional Footballers’ Association will fully support any players who do not want to fulfil media duties with the BBC after Premier League matches in solidarity with Lineker and the other pundits – all of them former England international players.

A number of players contacted the PFA seeking advice, and the union has subsequently spoken to Premier League clubs to establish a collective position.

Lineker (62) has been embroiled in a row over impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new Government asylum policy with 1930s Germany on Twitter.

Earlier, director-general at the BBC Tim Davie – who warned staff about their use of social media when he took on the role at the end of 2020 before guidelines on their use was updated – was asked by BBC News why Lineker had not been sacked.

He replied: “Well I think we always look to take proportionate action and that’s what we’ve done.”

Davie said he would not “add to” the