Things are getting worse for the BBC rather than better as the Gary Lineker crisis deepens further.
A snowball effect appears to be happening right across the corporation ever since it was announced that the presenter was being asked to step back from his Match of the Day duties this Saturday.
Gary Lineker to step back from presenting Match of the Day until an agreement is reached on his social media use, BBC says.
It follows an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the government's new asylum policy. https://t.co/I2dwATOGfD
— Dan Roan (@danroan) March 10, 2023
Colleague, Ian Wright, was the first to offer his support via Twitter:
Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) March 10, 2023
He was closely followed by another MOTD regular, Alan Shearer:
I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) March 10, 2023
Thereafter, presenters of Football Focus and Final Score joined in the boycott, as well as cameramen and commentators, along with players and managers of all the Premier League teams refusing to carry out their media duties to the BBC during the weekend’s games.
As commentators on MOTD, we have decided to step down from tomorrow night’s broadcast. We are comforted that football fans who want to watch their teams should still be able to do so, as management can use World Feed commentary if they wish.
— Steve Wilson (@Wilsonfooty) March 10, 2023
The @PFA will fully back players who do not want to fulfil media duties with @BBCMOTD in solidarity with @GaryLineker and the other pundits. The union has spoken to all @premierleague clubs to establish a collective position.
— Ian Parker (@iparkysport) March 10, 2023
If it seemed that things couldn’t get any worse for the ‘beeb,’ the news came on Saturday lunchtime, via The Guardian, that the afternoon radio coverage of football on Five Live, normally a staple listen for many, had also been pulled from broadcast.
The saga is continuing to make headlines and there must surely be huge embarrassment being felt at the BBC at present.
The question for them now is what do they do next.
Asking Lineker to step aside could, perhaps, leave them with a mass walkout if those who have appeared to already support the presenter decide to carry on doing so, at the risk of losing their own jobs.
Decisions, decisions…