MATCH OF THE DAY TO BROADCAST WITHOUT PRESENTERS OR PUNDITS

The BBC have confirmed that Match Of The Day will broadcast as planned this weekend, but without presenters or pundits.

A BBC spokesperson confirmed: "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."

It followed controversy over comments Gary made criticising the UK government's asylum policy this week on Twitter.

A BBC spokesperson said earlier: "The BBC has been in extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days. We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.

The BBC has 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. When it comes to leading our football and sports coverage, Gary is second to none.

We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies."