• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Tonight's Match of the Day thrown into turmoil as BBC don't have rights to global commentary feed

Home> Football

Published 16:36 11 Mar 2023 GMT

Tonight's Match of the Day thrown into turmoil as BBC don't have rights to global commentary feed

Saturday night's Match of the Day episode is stepping into uncharted waters after pundits and commentators pledged support to Gary Lineker.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

The chaos surrounding Saturday night's Match of the Day continues, with the latest being that the BBC do not have the rights for global commentary.

After Gary Lineker was told to stake a step back from hosting duties until an agreement is reached over his social media activity, the show has been thrown into complete and utter disarray.

The show is still going ahead but without pundits or a presenter after Ian Wright and Alan Shearer both announced they would not be appearing.

In addition, BBC regular commentators like Steve Wilson and Conor McNamara also joined in on the boycott - leading to the expectation that commentary for the world feed would be utilised instead.

However, David Ornstein from The Athletic is reporting that the organisation do not have the rights for the necessary global commentary.

Advert

Commentator Steve Wilson said he would not be describing the action. Image: PA
Commentator Steve Wilson said he would not be describing the action. Image: PA

As a result, given there will be no studio presentation, the programme is to be a 20-minute glorified highlights show without in-game commentary or any analysis.

There will not even be any post-match interviews with Premier League players or managers, with it emerging that the 12 clubs in action were told they would not receive requests from the BBC in what has been deemed a "face-saving exercise".

Advert

Some were thinking of boycotting anyway and had the support from the union, the PFA.

Image: PA
Image: PA

The unprecedented format could have a huge bearing on viewing figures. Football Focus and Final Score, the BBC's two other flagship football programmes, were pulled from the air after Alex Scott and Jason Mohammad stood in solidarity with Lineker.

Similar happened on BBC Radio 5 Live, where Mark Chapman and Colin Murray refused to host and other pundits said they were not fulfilling their duties.

Advert

The BBC have said their sporting programming will be "limited" and stressed they are "working hard to resolve the situation".

But they will have to work fast as the channel is scheduled to broadcast two live FA Cup quarter-final games next weekend.

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: Match Of The Day, Gary Lineker, Ian Wright, Alan Shearer

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

X

@joshlawless_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
13 hours ago
14 hours ago
  • Getty
    11 hours ago

    Real Madrid Player Sent Off After El Clasico Chaos As Five More Yellow Cards Confirmed

    Referee Cesar Soto Grado had plenty to write in his match report after tensions boiled over at the Bernabeu.

    Football
  • Getty
    13 hours ago

    West Ham make Nuno Espirito Santo sack decision after four games as manager

    The Portuguese manager has not had a good start to life at West Ham United.

    Football
  • DAZN
    14 hours ago

    What Vinicius Jr said to Lamine Yamal before El Clasico altercation

    The two La Liga stars clashed with each other during the biggest match of the season.

    Football
  • LaLiga TV
    14 hours ago

    Vinicius Jr And Lamine Yamal Involved in Heated Altercation Following El Clasico

    Vinicius and Yamal had a heated row seconds after full-time - with Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga among the others involved.

    Football
  • Gary Lineker email sent to all BBC staff emerges after Match of the Day exit confirmed
  • Gary Lineker explains little-known Match of the Day 'rule' which saw Alan Shearer slammed
  • Sky move to correct Match of the Day error labelled a 'technical mistake'
  • New surprise name enters race to replace Gary Lineker as Match of the Day host