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BBC boss, Tim Davie was last night locked in a personal shootout with English football icon, Gary Lineker after a day of chaos for the TV network.
Davie insisted he would not quit while Lineker refused to back down amid a row over his controversial tweets.
The saga saw the Match of the Day coverage cut from 80 minutes to just 20 and several other football shows were axed as other stars walked out in support.
BBC bosses have demanded Lineker agree to stop posting political messages online after he commented on the Government’s small boats policies.
But a source close to the $2.5 million per-year England legend insisted he would carry on.
BBC director-general, Tim Davie admitted it had been a “difficult day” but said of quitting: “My job is to serve licence fee payers and I look forward to resolving this situation.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he hopes the row ends “in a timely manner”.
Lineker is set for crisis talks but former BBC Director General, Greg Dyke feared the fallout could spell the end of his career at the public broadcaster.
In the events of those 24 hours, Football Focus and Final Score were cancelled after Alex Scott, Kelly Somers and Jason Mohammad refused to go in front of the camera Then Fighting Talk and the 606 show on Radio 5 Live were pulled. BBC Director General Tim Davie apologised but insisted he would not resign. Finally, Fellow football presenter Ian Wright threatened to quit if the BBC got rid of Lineker; He tweeted: “Big up Gary Lineker, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.”
A day of scheduling chaos saw Football Focus replaced with an old episode of Bargain Hunt while The Repair Shop was shown instead of Final Score.
Radio 5 Live’s traditional Saturday football coverage was also ripped to shreds, with Colin Murray pulling out of Fighting Talk and Mark Chapman standing down from presenting duties.
The 606 phone-in show with Robbie Savage and Chris Sutton was also pulled, replaced by a Eurovision podcast.
Pundit Dion Dublin tweeted: “In solidarity with my BBC Sport colleagues NO 5live for me today!”
Ex-footballer Glenn Murray also pulled out of Football Focus and Final Score duties.
He tweeted: “I was meant to be up in Media City today but reflecting last night I felt it was the right thing to do to step away from Focus and Score today. If he was to apologise, then fine I suspect he could go back on air but it’s gone a little bit too far for that.”
Lineker has been told by the BBC to re-think his social media use but ex-BBC boss Mr Dyke said yesterday he was entitled to express controversial views.
He told Radio 4’s Today program: “There is a long-established precedent in the BBC that is that if you’re an entertainment presenter or you’re a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same rules.”
However he added it was “quite clear” he did not intend to give the BBC any assurances about his future conduct and that “therefore I suspect this is the end of Gary Lineker as a BBC presenter as we’ve known him”.
Sunak also waded into the row last night, insisting he is right to take “tough decisions” to fix the migration crisis. He added: “It is important that we maintain perspective, particularly given the seriousness of the issue at hand.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the BBC is not acting impartially and was “caving in” to Tory MPs by telling Lineker to step back from Match of the Day.
He accused the government of blaming “anybody else” rather than “accepting that they’ve broken the asylum system”.
Some BBC commentators did take to the airwaves yesterday, though they admitted it was a tough decision.
Ian Dennis worked on the Leeds v Brighton game for Radio 5 Live at 3pm, while Alistair Bruce-Ball was set to follow suit for the late game between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
Ex-footballer Chris Sutton also decided he was going to work on 606 before BBC bosses scrapped the show anyway.
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