Gary Lineker suspension: Match of the Day 2 and Women’s Super League coverage to be ‘much reduced’ as BBC crisis deepens – live | BBC

Gary Lineker’s son George has said he is “proud” of his dad after he was suspended from the BBC’s Match of the Day over a tweet.

He wrote on Twitter:

Proud of the old man after a busy few days. Shouldn’t need to apologise for being a good person and standing by his word.

The reaction of the public has been overwhelming. Thanks for the support.

The time is 1pm. Here is a roundup of the day’s developments so far:

• Gary Lineker responded “I can’t say anything” to questions from reporters when he left his home in Barnes, south-west London, to walk his dog on Sunday morning. He was asked “do you still want to work for the BBC?”, “have you spoken to Tim Davie overnight?”, “have you had discussions with BT or Sky?” and “is this the end of your presenting career?”, and gave no response.

• The BBC has been forced to severely reduce its sports programming for a second day amid a deepening row over the suspension of Gary Lineker. The corporation said Match of the Day 2 and coverage of the Women’s Super League match between Manchester United and Chelsea would be “much reduced” on Sunday.

• Coverage of the Women’s Super League fixture between Chelsea and Manchester United is under way on BBC Two. According to the TV guide, the action at Kingsmeadow was due to be presented by Reshmin Chowdhury. Like many of her BBC Sport colleagues this weekend, there was no sign of Chowdhury as coverage began just five minutes before kick-off at 12.25pm, with the world feed commentator Nigel Adderley welcoming viewers “from around the world”.

• Gary Lineker’s son said he thinks the sports presenter will return to Match of the Day – but said he would not “back down on his word”. In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, George Lineker said his father had been “a bit disappointed” by the BBC asking him to step back from hosting Saturday’s show.

• Match of the Day viewing figures were unaffected by the absence of Gary Lineker on Saturday night. The shortened 20-minute version of the show had no commentary, presenters or pundits, and even the show’s theme music was dropped, as the BBC dealt with the fallout after suspending its highest-paid star.

• The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called for the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, to resign to restore the perception of independence at the corporation. On Gary Lineker’s attack on the government’s “stop the boats” policy, he said during an interview with BBC Breakfast that there were “criticisms to be levelled at the Conservatives”.

• The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has criticised Tory MPs for “putting pressure” on the BBC to take Gary Lineker off air. She told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme: “I wouldn’t have used the language that Gary Lineker used. But do I think he should be taken off TV from doing commentary on the football? No, I don’t. And I think that was out of proportion.”

• The chancellor said “people’s confidence” should be restored in knowing the BBC has no “political agenda”, when he was asked about the Gary Lineker row. Jeremy Hunt, speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News, said he “personally profoundly disagrees” with the comments the TV pundit made. But, he said, “we need to make sure that what comes out of this is that people’s confidence in the impartiality of the BBC is restored”.

• The BBC wants to “pick and choose” when its presenters can be impartial, the former England footballer John Barnes has said. Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Barnes said: “I don’t know when the BBC has ever been impartial but BBC reporting on the World Cup was anything but impartial.”

• Mark Thompson, the former director general of the BBC, has called for “calm” and said Gary Lineker technically breached the BBC’s impartiality guidelines. Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said he hoped Lineker and the BBC could block out the “crazy noise in the papers” and find “common ground” to resolve the deepening row.

• A former BBC executive has described Gary Lineker as a “brilliant” broadcaster but questioned if he has outgrown his role at the BBC. Peter Salmon, who among his many roles was previously the controller of BBC One and director of sport, said the impartiality row surrounding the former England footballer was a “mess” and he felt that the director general, Tim Davie, needs to get a grip of the situation.

• The Royal National Institute of Blind People has said the BBC’s decision not to include commentary on Match of the Day was “unacceptable” and the corporation “needs to do better”.

Gary Lineker responded “I can’t say anything” to questions from reporters when he left his home in Barnes, south-west London, to walk his dog on Sunday morning.

He was asked “do you still want to work for the BBC?”, “have you spoken to Tim Davie overnight?”, “have you had discussions with BT or Sky?” and “is this the end of your presenting career?”, and gave no response.

PA Media even provided detail of the former England striker’s Sunday dog walk attire. Blue jeans, a blue zipped jumper and walking boots, for those interested.

Coverage of the Women’s Super League fixture between Chelsea and Manchester United has just got under way on BBC Two.

According to the TV guide, the action at Kingsmeadow in Kingston upon Thames – the former home of non-league side Kingstonian – was due to be presented by Reshmin Chowdhury.

Like many of her BBC Sport colleagues this weekend, there was no sign of Chowdhury as coverage began just five minutes before kick-off at 12.25pm with the world feed commentator Nigel Adderley welcoming viewers “from around the world”.

Clearly the Beeb’s ability to produce and present its own coverage of live sport remains affected.

Curiously, the Match of the Day intro music at the top of the show was drowned out at times by the sound of Harry J All Stars’ Liquidator blaring out over the Kingsmeadow PA system.

Jamie Grierson

What is the BBC’s social media policy and what does it mean for stars like Gary Lineker?

The former England striker’s post on Twitter criticising the government’s proposed asylum legislation has triggered a debate over the BBC’s impartiality rules – what they say and to whom they should apply.

Here is a brief explainer.

Josh Halliday

The BBC is expected to severely reduce a second day of sports programming amid a deepening row over the suspension of Gary Lineker.

The corporation is poised to cut back Match of the Day 2 and coverage of the Women’s Super League match between Manchester United and Chelsea after a mass walkout by BBC stars.

The broadcaster is facing its most serious crisis in years after a series of high-profile presenters, commentators and pundits refused to appear on air because of Lineker’s suspension for criticising the government’s immigration policy.

The BBC has been forced to severely reduce a second day of sports programming amid a deepening row over the suspension of Gary Lineker.

The corporation said Match of the Day 2 and coverage of the Women’s Super League match between Manchester United and Chelsea would be “much reduced” on Sunday.