Alex Scott takes hilarious swipe at Gary Lineker on live BBC coverage for FA Cup after replacing him

Alex Scott aimed a cheeky dig at Gary Lineker after she filled in for the Match of the Day presenter on BBC’s FA Cup coverage for Brighton vs Grimsby Town on Sunday.

Lineker has since returned to duties with the BBC after his impartiality row with the UK state broadcaster, which initially saw the Match of the Day host suspended.

The 62-year-old former England striker was scheduled to present Brighton and Grimsby’s FA Cup quarter-final clash for the BBC at the Amex Stadium.

However, the BBC confirmed that Lineker had been struggling with “illness” and Scott would fill in as his replacement for the broadcaster’s live coverage.

“Due to illness, we’ve got a line-up change for today’s live FA Cup coverage of Brighton v Grimsby on BBC One,” reads the BBC’s statement.

“As viewers will have noticed yesterday, Gary Lineker was struggling with his voice and unfortunately it has deteriorated overnight. Alex Scott will be hosting instead.”

Scott had previously shown solidarity with Lineker over his row with the BBC and chose not to present the Football Focus show earlier this month.

However, the BBC pundit was in fine form on Sunday and didn’t pass up the opportunity to take a cheeky swipe at Lineker after the controversy surrounding him.

I’ve been silenced…. literally, by a nasty cold so, annoyingly, won’t be working at @OfficialBHAFC this afternoon.

— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) March 19, 2023

“Everyone in the house apart from Gary Lineker,” Scott said near the beginning of BBC One’s coverage.

Scott’s little dig at the former Tottenham and Leicester City star even left fellow BBC pundits Danny Murphy and Glenn Murray laughing in delight.

Lineker, who shared a heartfelt message after his suspension with the BBC was lifted, on Sunday revealed that he had been “silenced” by his “nasty cold.”

He tweeted to his 8.9m followers: “I’ve been silenced.... literally, by a nasty cold so, annoyingly, won’t be working at [Brighton vs Grimsby] this afternoon.”

Brighton thumped League Two side Grimsby 5-0 at the Amex to secure their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.

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