Published By: Ritayan Basu
Last Updated: March 13, 2023, 07:31 IST
Former England footballer Gary Lineker (Reuters)
Gary Lineker’s ousting as Match of the Day presenter sparked a serious backlash from BBC pundits and commentators, decimating the publicly-funded broadcaster’s sports activities schedule
The BBC’s flagship soccer highlights present Match of the Day was reduce brief on Saturday as pundits and commentators pulled out after presenter Gary Lineker was taken off air by the company.
Lineker was advised to “step again” from the role he has held since 1999 on Friday after an impartiality row broke out over the former England striker’s comparison of the UK government’s rhetoric in tackling illegal immigration to Nazi-era Germany.
But the decision sparked a major backlash from BBC pundits and commentators, decimating the publicly-funded broadcaster’s sports schedule.
First broadcast in 1964, Match of the Day is the world’s longest-running football television programme and has grown into a cultural phenomenon in Britain.
For the first time it was broadcast without a presenter, pundits or even commentary with only crowd noise accompanying a 20-minute highlights package of six Premier League games, an hour less than scheduled.
The programme’s famous theme tune was even dropped for an introduction apologising to viewers for the curtailed show.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed)
