Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer drops TV bombshell amid BBC Gary Lineker row

Alan Shearer follows Ian Wright in stepping back from the weekend BBC football show.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has issued a statement saying he will not appear on Match of the Day on Saturday after host Gary Lineker ‘stepped back’ from the show. It comes after the BBC released a statement saying they had decided Lineker will ‘step back’ from his presenting duties until there is an agreement on the use of social media.

Shearer took to social media to stand by Lineker on Friday evening, tweeting: "I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night." The news comes after fellow MOTD star Ian Wright also pulled out of the show.

Alan Shearer believes it would be a 'miracle' for Newcastle United to qualify for the Champions League this season (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Alan Shearer believes it would be a 'miracle' for Newcastle United to qualify for the Champions League this season (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Alan Shearer believes it would be a 'miracle' for Newcastle United to qualify for the Champions League this season (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The former Arsenal star tweeted: “Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.” It comes amid an outpouring of support for Gary Lineker following the corporation’s statement on Friday.

The BBC’s statement said: “We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines. The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting MOTD until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.

“We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on political issues or political controversies”

Former Match of the Day stand-in host, Dan Walker also tweeted to say: “I used to sit in for Gary Lineker on MOTD… not sure I’d fancy it this weekend What a mess!” On Channel 5 news this evening, Walker read a text from Gary Lineker which said the BBC had told him he had to step back.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The statement comes after days of speculation and calls of support and criticism for the former England star after he compared the Conservative government’s new illegal immigration bill to “Germany in the 1930s”.

The BBC’s decision was released 24 hours after Lineker tweeted to say he was looking forward to presenting the popular show on Saturday evening. He has been presenting the flagship football highlights programme since the late 1990’s.