Lineker shrugs off BBC criticism as MOTD host seen joking at Leicester

Axed BBC pundit Gary Lineker has been spotted laughing in the stands at the King Power Stadium ahead of Leicester City’s clash with Chelsea. The Match of the Day (MOTD) presenter was asked to take a step back following his recent comments about government policies on Twitter.

It was announced on Friday night that the former Foxes star has been stood down from his usual MOTD duties the following evening after sparking controversial with a tweet where he compared the Home Secretary’s new asylum policy to that of Nazi Germany.

The 62-year-old refused to apologise for his statement, prompting the BBC to pull him from their upcoming coverage until an agreement was reached on his social media usage. The announcement that Lineker would not be hosting MOTD sparked major controversy though, with numerous pundits refusing to work to show solidarity with their colleague.

Alan Shearer and Ian Wright led the way in the boycott, along with popular candiates to replace Lineker long term – Alex Scott and Jermaine Jenas – also temporarily stepping away from their duties.

Consequently the sheer amount of absentees has forced the BBC to cancel their Football Focus and Final Score broadcasts, as well as drastically alter their MOTD coverage to contain no pundits or commentators. Lineker has been overwhelmed by the support, and wasted no time in enjoying his Saturday off by attending his beloved Leicester City football club.

Brendan Rodgers’ side take on Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, and Lineker was spotted arriving at the King Power Stadium ahead of kick off. The Premier League legend waved at fans and cracked a rye smile before heading into the ground.

The former Barcelona forward was then seen in the stands cracking jokes with friends, as well as posing for pictures. It remains unclear for how long Lineker will be out of action for with the BBC and whether he will even return to TV screens on that channel.

The broadcaster has announced that they are hoping to resolve the situation involving their limited schedules as soon as possible. They released a statement that read: “The BBC will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that.

“We are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans. We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.”

The broadcaster has announced that they are hoping to resolve the situation involving their limited schedules as soon as possible. They released an apology statement which read: “The BBC will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that.

“We are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans. We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.”

The BBC are set to push on with MOTD and provide highlights from all six Premier League fixtures on Saturday, though footage from the stadiums will be stitched together with no live analysis. Some commentators have also taken a stand and refused to work to show solidarity with Lineker, providing the BBC with yet another issue to tackle before the show airs 10.20pm.