Match of the Day will go ahead as planned on Saturday without “studio presentation or punditry”, and will instead focus on “match action”, the BBC has said.
Gary Lineker has been forced off his Match of the Day duties by the BBC in a row over impartiality after comparing the language used to launch a new government asylum policy with 1930s Germany.
He is stepping back from Match Of The Day (MOTD) until an “agreed and clear position” on social media use is made, the corporation said on Friday.
Since the BBC’s announcement, several football pundits including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer have pulled out of appearing on tomorrow night’s programme.
Shearer tweeted: “I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night”, while Wright had posted: “Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “Some of our pundits have said that they don’t wish to appear on the programme while we seek to resolve the situation with Gary.
“We understand their position and we have decided that the programme will focus on match action without studio presentation or punditry.”
Former Arsenal player Alex Scott appeared to rule herself out of the MOTD presenting hotseat by posting a GIF with the words “Nah! Not me”.
Meanwhile, Micah Richards and Jermaine Jenas also made clear they would not be interested in being pundits on the show.