BBC Scotland has apologised for changes to its programming amid the fallout from Gary Lineker being asked to step back from Saturday's Match of the Day.

Sportscene will run this evening but with an amended format similar to the current plans for Match of the Day, while some of the Sportsound slot on Radio Scotland was replaced by pre-recorded material.

In a statement BBC Scotland says it "will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that."

It adds: "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."

In Wales, there is support in the crowd among Swansea City supporters.

Fans supporting the team in their game against Middlesbrough have been seen holding up a sign reading 'Gary, Gary, Gary Lineker - stand up to racism'.

Image source, Reuters

BBC Radio 5 live has now resumed its scheduled sports coverage.

Kicking off the live commentary of the match between Leeds United and Brighton, Ian Dennis said it had been a tough day.

"It's also a very difficult time for BBC Sport, and for those who work in the department. We all hope that that gets resolved," he said.

"Personally, today I found it very difficult. But I'm a BBC staff member, I'm a radio commentator for BBC 5 Live - and today, like every Saturday afternoon, we provide a service to you, the audience."

Gary Lineker is inside Leicester City's King Power Stadium, with the team's game against Chelsea now well under way.

Fans in the crowd have been taking pictures with the Match of the Day presenter, with others holding up signs supporting him.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Earlier, we reported on BBC radio station 5 Live suspending its football coverage.

This has also impacted the BBC World Service English-language radio broadcasting, which has a global audience.

Sportsworld was scheduled for almost four hours - from 14:06 to 18:00 GMT - but it's currently not on air.

Gary Lineker has the backing of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), with its general secretary Michelle Stanistreet saying the BBC is in a "dangerous position" after it asked him to step back from presenting.

“This is a massive own goal on the part of the BBC," she says.

“Yielding to sustained political pressure in this way is as foolish as it is dangerous."

She notes the situation around BBC chairman Richard Sharp, who was at the centre of a controversy about him helping to facilitate a loan for then prime minister Boris Johnson.

She adds it is "heartening to see solidarity in action", referring to the support from Lineker's colleagues.

Bectu, the union which represents the broadcasting sector, says it had been a "deeply concerning decision from the BBC".

"It will give the appearance that they have bowed to political pressure from ministers to take someone off air for disagreeing with the policies of the current government," says the union's head Philippa Childs.

The row kicked off on Tuesday when the government unveiled controversial plans to ban people arriving in the UK illegally from ever claiming asylum.

Gary Lineker reacted on Twitter, external, calling the plan an "immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".

That comparison to Nazi Germany caused issue among some MPs, including the Home Secretary Suella Braverman who described it as "lazy and unhelpful".

The BBC announced three days after Lineker wrote the tweet that he would be suspended from presenting flagship football show, Match of the Day, "until we've got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media".

The BBC has apologised for what it says will be "limited sport programming this weekend".

It says its schedules will be updated to reflect this.

In a statement the corporation says: “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.”

Gary Lineker has arrived at Leicester City's King Power Stadium ahead of the club's match against Chelsea in just under an hour.

The club are Lineker's hometown team, and where he played for seven years at the start of his career.

Image source, Reuters

We're hearing different responses from people across the UK to the BBC's decision to suspend Lineker.

Barbara, a retired magistrate says she expects better from the BBC: "If you care about your licence fee payers, stop bowing to the agenda of the Mail and Express".

She said she believed BBC had a "proud heritage" but had to encourage different voices.

Margaret got in touch to say she was "greatly disturbed" by what she said appeared to be "potential government pressure on BBC bosses".

However, others have said they don't believe it's the place of television presenters to tweet about politics.

David said Lineker's opinions came from "a very privileged position" and said he believed he was "out of touch" with the public.

John told us he hoped Lineker wasn't being paid while he was off-air.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has weighed in on the Lineker row.

“It is not impartial for BBC to cave in to Tory MPs complaining about Gary Lineker, it’s the opposite of impartial,” he said, while at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandundo.

“They got this one badly wrong and now they’re very, very exposed.”

Starmer said the crux of the issue was that the government had failed with their asylum system and was looking to blame others.

"What they should be doing is standing up, accepting they've broken the asylum system, and telling us what they're going to do to actually fix it, not whingeing on about Gary Lineker."

In a statement on Friday, responding to the decision to take Lineker off air, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "Individual cases are a matter for the BBC."

The BBC's former head of TV news and director of sport, Roger Mosey, has weighed in.

Writing on Twitter, external, he says Lineker's tweets "weren't compliant with editorial guidelines" and that impartiality is "vital".

However, he goes on to say the BBC has been "inconsistent" in how it has applied these guidelines, and this recent move looks as though it is taking "one side of the culture war".

He suggests the removal of BBC chairman Richard Sharp as a way forward.

There has been an ongoing controversy involving Sharp, and allegations he helped facilitate a loan to former PM Boris Johnson.

"He damages the BBC's credibility," Mosey writes.

"Ideally, Lineker should stay within clear, agreed guidelines.

"And the BBC should send out its executives to be interviewed and explain how they intend to resolve this crisis."

We have an update on the BBC's radio station, 5 Live, which would normally be covering today's football matches, including commentary and punditry.

A senior source said "5 Live's sports programmes are currently being impacted and we are running recorded content".

Earlier today, Fighting Talk presenter Colin Murray said the show was not airing on 5 Live "for obvious reasons".

Gary Lineker's son, Harry, has just told reporters at their home that his dad has gone to watch the Leicester match, and will be gone for most of the day.

Image source, Reuters

BBC journalist Damian Grammaticas says pressure from other football pundits and commentators has "forced the BBC to completely change its schedule of sports coverage today" on the BBC's news channel.

He said Alex Scott, Kelly Somers, Glenn Murray and Jason Mohammed were among those who would not present today.

But the Match of the Day programme is still scheduled to go ahead, without presenters or pundits.

Image source, offside

For many years, Gary Lineker has been one of sport's most famous faces - both on the football pitch and on television screens.

The 62-year-old is one of the most recognisable figures associated with the broadcaster, and is part of the footballing landscape in the UK.

He took over as host of the BBC's football highlights programme in 1999 after a stellar career as a striker for England, Leicester City, Everton, Spurs and Barcelona that finished in Japan.

One of the broadcaster's highest-paid presenters, Lineker is viewed by many as one of the faces of the BBC - and he has not shied from using his high profile to express his political views.

He has taken refugees into his home and spoken passionately about the need to protect people who come to the country in need.

Read more here.

Someone who has come out in support of the BBC is billionaire and philanthropist John Caudwell.

He is well known as the founder of former retailer Phones 4U, and is a major donor to the Conservative party - he gave the Tories £500,000 ahead of the 2019 general election.

Writing on Twitter, external, Caudwell says the "circus" around Lineker "distracts from the real issues with refugees".

"It's fine to have an opinion and express it in a fair way," he says.

"But as British taxpayers pay his salary, he should be promoting Britain not comparing the country to Nazi Germany.

"That’s unpatriotic and damaging to Britain's image!"

If you're just joining us, fall-out from the Gary Lineker row is coming thick and fast, so here's a quick recap:

• Football presenters have been pulling out of key BBC programmes in support of Lineker after he was told to "step back" from Match Of The Day
• Football Focus has been replaced by Bargain Hunt on the BBC One schedule, shortly after presenter Alex Scott said it "doesn't feel right" to go ahead with the show
• Final Score also disappeared from the BBC One list, with The Repair Shop now listed for 4:30pm after presenter Jason Mohammad also said he would not appear today
• Presenter Colin Murray said BBC 5 Live's Fighting Talk was not airing today "for obvious reasons",, external which he said was "a decision taken by the entire FT team and myself"

• Match Of The Day pundit Ian Wright has said he'll quit if the BBC "gets rid" of Lineker
• Greg Dyke, a former director general of the BBC, said the corporation was "mistaken" to take Lineker off air
• The BBC has not commented this morning, but yesterday it said it considered Lineker's tweets a breach of its guidelines and that he will remain off air until it gets "an agreed and clear position on his use of social media"

How did we get here? You can watch this video for a reminder.

The BBC's long-running Radio 5 Live show Fighting Talk, where guests compete for points, has also been pulled from Saturday's scheduling.

In a tweet, external, presenter Colin Murray said: "No Fighting Talk today, for obvious reasons. In the interest of transparency, this was a decision taken by the entire FT team and myself."

The hour-long show is normally aired at 11:00 on Saturdays.

Image source, PA Media

Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright has said he'll quit the BBC if it "gets rid" of Lineker.

"If they get rid of Gary Lineker, I'm out, I'm gone, I'm not staying there," he said on the latest edition of his podcast Wrighty's House, released on Friday.

"On his own platform, he should be able to say what he wants to say," the former Arsenal player said.

Wright also said he agreed with Lineker's tweet about the government's new asylum bill.

He said the row was "the perfect distraction for this government".

"They've got no empathy" and "the most vulnerable ones are always the ones that suffer," he added.

"He [Lineker] is so right with what's he's saying."