Sportscene outlasts Match of the Day with just TWO games amid BBC coverage cut back during Gary Lineker row

A pundit-less Sportscene was slashed to just 30 minutes - but will have lasted for longer than Match of the Day which has been cut further amid the row with Gary Lineker.

The broadcaster confirmed earlier today that Scottish football's flagship programme would follow Match of the Day and implement an "amended format" for the coverage of the Scottish Cup as the dispute with Lineker rumbles on. The host stepped back from his role following a controversial tweet criticising the UK Government, but the move has seen commentators, pundits and presenters refuse to appear during the highlights of the Premier League action.

BBC Scotland that the team north of the border would follow suit with major changes to the typical Sportscene coverage of the Scottish Cup. While there was no punditry the coverage of Celtic's 3-0 victory over Hearts did include match commentary, and was following by a recap of Kilmarnock's Friday night exit at the hands of Inverness Caley Thistle.

The programme had originally been scheduled to run for 45 minutes, but was cut to 30 on BBC Scotland with limited coverage. Match of the Day's highlights programme will be just 20 minutes long on Saturday night with a six game fixture card.

In the midst of the Lineker row, BBC director general Tim Davie admitted it had been a "difficult day" as he apologised for the disruption to the broadcaster's sports programming across the country. He said: "I’m sorry audiences have been affected and they haven’t got the programming.

"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."

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