Gary Lineker was removed from hosting Match of the Day on Saturday (Getty)
BBC commentator Alistair Bruce-Ball admits he made a ‘difficult decision’ to continue broadcasting on Sunday following the call to take Gary Lineker off air.
The BBC opted to remove Lineker from hosting Match of the Day following his post on Twitter in which he compared the language used in a Home Office video on immigration policy with Nazi Germany.
Several presenters and pundits, including Alex Scott, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, made themselves unavailable for the BBC’s football coverage on Saturday in a show of support for Lineker.
Match of the Day, which has been hosted by Lineker for over 22 years, was broadcast on Saturday evening but was shortened to a 20-minute episode where only match highlights were shown with no commentary, analysis or post-match interviews with managers or players.
Sunday’s programming was also disrupted as the top-of-the-table Women’s Super League fixture between Chelsea and Manchester United, which was shown live on BBC, had no presenter or pundits, while the commentary was provided by an external feed.
The BBC have also confirmed that Match of the Day 2, which is usually hosted by Mark Chapman, will also go ahead on Sunday evening in a similar ‘much-reduced format’.
BBC director general Tim Davie says he wants Gary Lineker to return (PA)
However, the BBC’s Radio Five Live commentary of Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Fulham went ahead on Sunday afternoon as Bruce-Ball acknowledged the ‘difficult’ situation he was faced with.
‘I want to reiterate what we said ahead of our football coverage yesterday,’ he said before kick off.
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‘I know you’ll all appreciate this is a difficult time for BBC Sport and for all those who work in the department and we hope it all gets resolved as soon as possible.
‘It’s been a very difficult decision to make personally, I can assure you it’s not been taken lightly, but I’m a BBC staff member, I’m a radio commentator for this station and just like yesterday we are here to provide our football service to you, our audience.’
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Speaking on Saturday evening, BBC director general Tim Davie made it clear that he is keen for Lineker to return.
‘Success for me is getting Gary back on air and together we are giving to the audiences that world-class sports coverage which, as I say, I’m sorry we haven’t been able to deliver today,’ Davie said.
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Commentary on BBC Radio Five Live for Arsenal’s win over Fulham went ahead as scheduled.