Tim Davie, the BBC's director general, says he will not resign over the fallout from Gary Lineker being asked to step back from the Match of the Day programme
He also apologised for schedule changes, after several BBC TV and radio sports shows were pulled at the last minute, including Football Focus, Final Score and Fighting Talk
A large number of presenters and commentators are engaged in a boycott in support of Lineker, who is in a row with the BBC over impartiality
"As a keen sports fan I know to miss programming is a real blow and I’m sorry about that," said Davie
Flagship football programme Match of the Day will only last 20 minutes later this evening, with no commentary on the highlights
Lineker has been pulled off air for tweeting about the government's new migration law and comparing language around it to that of 1930s Germany
The BBC said the Match of the Day host - its highest-paid star - breached its guidelines on use of social media
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the issue is for the BBC and Gary Lineker to resolve but he stands by his immigration plan
Image source, PoolA short while ago Gary Lineker was spotted leaving his home.
Waiting media asked him how he felt about the controversy around his social media posts, and if his "career is over at the BBC".
Lineker did not respond to the questions, and was driven off in a car.
Final Score has been replaced by The Repair Shop at 4:30pm on the BBC One schedule.
It comes after presenter Jason Mohammad said he would not be presenting the show, external.
Image source, TwitterFatboy Slim showed a giant photo of Gary Lineker in his show on Friday night in Manchester
A number of UK celebrities, prominent public figures and activists have come out in support of Gary Lineker, many of them using hashtag ImWithGary.
"Enough respect" tweeted musician and producer Fatboy Slim. He posted a clip, external from his Friday night gig in Manchester, where a giant photo of Gary Lineker was projected on a screen, to loud cheers.
Actor Reece Dinsdale tweeted, external: "He [Lineker] can comment on human rights in Qatar whilst presenting the BBC’s coverage of the World Cup but he can’t comment on the state of his OWN country’s government for himself. How does that balance up, then?"
Meanwhile, political activist Femi Oluwole has written many tweets on the issue: "The same BBC that refused to apologise for saying the N-word in a news report, thinks it has the right to censor or even fire Gary Lineker for his political views, in the name of political sensitivity. Give me a break!!!"
Author Philip Pullman tweeted , externalthat "my admiration for Gary Lineker, Ian Wright, and Alan Shearer is unbounded".
And The Mirror newspaper has started a petition, demanding that Lineker be reinstated by the BBC to the Match of the Day programme. More than 140,000 people have already signed it.
Jason Mohammad has presented Final Score since 2013
Jason Mohammad, who presents another BBC football show, Final Score, has said he will not present it later today.
The programme normally airs at 16:30, to coincide with the end of football matches in the UK and summarise the results.
Writing on Twitter, external, he said the show is "very close to my heart".
"However - I have this morning informed the BBC that I will not be presenting the show this afternoon on BBC One."
Here in the newsroom, we have not heard any official word on the fate of Football Focus after presenter Alex Scott pulled out of the show.
But the BBC One schedule is now showing Bargain Hunt at midday, when Football Focus had previously been listed.
Final Score is still listed at 16:30, even though host Jason Mohammad has said he will pull out., external
Bristol Rovers have become one of the first to address the controversy directly, external.
Writing on Twitter, the League One team says it "won’t be talking to the BBC before or after today’s game", including the hashtag '#WeStandWithGary' in its post.
Bristol Rovers are playing Forest Green away later today.
Image source, Getty ImagesEarlier, we reported that the Premier League has told the 12 clubs playing today that their players and managers will not receive requests for Match of the Day interviews, the BBC understands.
A statement from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has confirmed that - it's been informed that players will not be asked to do interviews with the show.
The PFA says its members "wanted to take a collective position and to be able to show their support for those who have chosen not to be part of tonight’s programme".
It adds that the union had made it clear it would "support all members who might face consequences for choosing not to complete their broadcast commitments".
Sports presenter Kelly Somers has said she will not be appearing on the BBC today, external.
It comes after an earlier report in The Sun , externalsaid she would be standing in for former England international Alex Scott in presenting Football Focus.
"Just to confirm I won’t be on BBC television today," she wrote on a tweet.
Image source, ReutersIt had earlier been reporter Kelly Somers would stand in for Alex Scott
Alex Scott has now tweeted about her decision, external not to front today's show."I made a decision last night that even though I love my show and we have had an incredible week winning an SJA for Football Focus that it doesn’t feel right for me to go ahead with the show today," the former Lioness says.
"Hopefully I will be back in the chair next week…" she adds.
Image source, PA MediaAlex Scott and other pundits have pulled out of presenting the Football Focus and Final Score programmes, in solidarity with Gary Lineker, the BBC understands.
The former Arsenal player, who has presented the popular Saturday show since 2021, pulled out just a few hours before it was due to go on air.
Labour's Lucy Powell, the shadow secretary for digital, culture, media and sport, was on BBC Breakfast earlier.
She says the BBC has got itself "in a real mess" by "bowing to the Tory campaign to cancel somebody who disagreed with their views.
Challenged on whether it really is a Tory campaign, she says it's "clear for everyone to see" because of "ministers on the airwaves" being "boosted by friends in right-wing media".
She suggests the timing of the BBC asking Lineker to step down shows the BBC has "capitulated".
She says impartiality should mean showing independence to the government of the day, rather than focusing on individuals' comments unless they are in news and current affairs.
Image source, PA MediaIf you're just joining us or need a recap, here's the latest on the row betwee the BBC and Gary Lineker over comments he made on social media:
Richard Ayre, who was once the controller of BBC editorial policy, says it will be "a sad occasion for viewers" if Match of the Day has no pundits or commentators.
"It will be very sad if they can’t reconcile with Gary," he tells BBC Breakfast.
"He is superlative. He is absolutely extraordinarily good. Not just as a football pundit, but in my 50 or so years association with the BBC I have never come across a more naturally gifted television presenter.
"But frankly the BBC and its reputation is bigger and more important than any individual, even Gary."
Hannah Bayman
BBC News
An assistant has just come out of Gary Lineker's house to take a delivery of food. They told us the man at the centre of this story is still asleep.
There are about a dozen press photographers and journalists here so far.
Let's have a quick recap on what the BBC has said so far...
Yesterday, the broadcaster said it had asked Lineker to step back from presenting after "extensive discussions" with him.
The BBC said it considered his "recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines", adding it had been "decided that he will step back from presenting Match of the Day until we've got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media".
In a later statement, a 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."
Also yesterday, BBC correspondent Nomia Iqbal approached Director General Tim Davie about the row.
Asked if he just kicked the issue further down the line, he said: “I think we’ve had very constructive discussions."
BBC Director General Tim Davie quizzed on Lineker row
Baroness Patience Wheatcroft, a crossbench peer and former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal Europe and The Sunday Telegraph, also commented on the issue to Radio 4's Today show.
She says she agrees "with everything Gary Lineker said".
"I find the rhetoric coming out of government about asylum seekers deeply, deeply depressing and unappealing. I can completely understand why Gary Lineker said what he did."
She adds "the problem is the BBC has guidelines but it doesn’t apply them fairly".
Dan Roan
BBC sports editor
The Premier League has told the 12 clubs playing today that their players and managers will not receive requests for Match of the Day interviews, the BBC understands.
It has also said this to the League Managers' Association and the Professional Footballers' Association.
It comes after a number of players last night indicated they would not do post-match interviews with the BBC show, out of solidarity with Gary Lineker.
Asked what BBC Director General Tim Davie should do, Dyke says: "I don' t know how he gets out of this.
"It's quite clear Gary Lineker is not going to give him the assurances that he says he wants, therefore I suspect this is the end of Gary Lineker as a BBC presenter as we've known him, and I suspect it will have a long-term effect on Match of the Day."
Image source, GettyGreg Dyke was the director-general of the BBC from 2000 to 2004
Asked whether the BBC is being cowardly under pressure from the government, Dyke says the danger is the perception that it is.
The BBC has been under enormous pressure for about five years from this government, Dyke says, and the perception is going to be that Gary Lineker was taken off air after government pressure on a particular issue.
Dyke is asked about the controversy over BBC Chairman Richard Sharp and allegations that he helped facilitate a loan to former PM Boris Johnson.
Dyke says he knows and likes Sharp, and "he's probably a good chairman of the BBC" but says he thinks that that issue being around at the same time has helped fuel these perceptions.
He says that since last night's decision to ask Lineker to step back from presenting, a lot of people have rung him to say "isn't this ridiculous?".
Greg Dyke is now asked about whether the BBC not being able to control its highest paid presenter is an issue.
The former director general says "the money to some extent is irrelevant" as Lineker could make “far more” if he went elsewhere.
"There is a long established precedent in the BBC that if you are an entertainment presenter or a sports presenter then you are not bound by those same rules," he says.
"The real problem today is that the BBC has undermined its own credibility by doing this."
He says it could create the impression that the "BBC has bowed to government pressure".