Gary Lineker angered Match of the Day viewers with a mocking reference to BBCs on Saturday night abolition of the classified football results.
The BBC One program began with a summary of some of last week’s results, read in a style similar to James Alexander Gordon and Charlotte Green. Lineker then joked, “Just in case you couldn’t find the scores anywhere else last week.”
However, after a week in which the broadcaster drew criticism from fan groups and a large number of former pundits and presenters, many viewers did not see the funny side. Among dozens of comments, one viewer tweeted, “What was that b****** at the start of MOTD? Complete arrogance and misses the point about the classified football results!”
Another, who describes himself as a former producer, added: “I find the way Gary Lineker and Mark Chapman patronize @5liveSport’s listeners about the loss of the classified football results very distasteful. Sarcasm is out of place.”
Radio 5 Live’s results service had been taken off the air without warning over the weekend, immediately sparking outrage from listeners driving home from matches. Lineker’s reference to the decision came after a week in which Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries added her voice to the criticism, saying the company has given supporters a “bitter pill” by ending the 70-year radio tradition.
BBC staff are said to have expressed their dismay internally, but bosses say there is no more room in the schedules due to the 5.30pm coverage of the Premier League evening kick-off.
The BBC has defended its decision after receiving complaints. It said: “We have received some complaints from people who are dissatisfied with the fact that the classified football results will no longer be read on Saturday’s Sports Report program on Radio 5 Live.
“We value the power of feeling for the classified football results within Sports Report. It is always difficult when a program with a special history changes, but there are good reasons for it.
“With the addition of the live Premier League match from 5.30pm to our coverage, Sports Report has been condensed into a shorter schedule – reduced from one hour to 25 minutes.
“It took about five to seven minutes to read the ads, which would have taken up about a third of the program — limiting the range of sports we could cover.”
John Webster was the show’s first reader before Gordon, serving on duties from 1974 to 2013. Gordon was replaced by Green, the former BBC Radio 4 newsreader.