Match of the Day have Lineker replacement booked – but BBC face embarrassment

Match of the Day was scrapped on BBC One on Saturday evening as a generic 'Premier League Highlights' package aired – with plans for next week at risk.

Although director general Tim Davie made getting Gary Lineker back on screens his 'number one' priority, the usual host is not booked in for Saturday according to BBC scheduling.

As of 11pm on Saturday evening (March 11), the iPlayer website has Mark Chapman listed as introducing highlights for Chelsea vs Everton among other fixtures.

READ MORE: 'Lifeless' Match of the Day a BBC nightmare – and Gary Lineker must be laughing at home

While it is not unusual for Chapman to step into the shoes of Lineker on occasion, the 49-year-old did not host BBC Radio 5 Live's Saturday coverage and might well continue in that stance.

With Callum Wilson and Michail Antonio's Footballers' Football Podcast played on the airwaves instead, Chapman didn't comment on the matter publicly.

Jermain Defoe also took to Twitter to pull of Sunday's Match of the Day 2, as Alan Shearer and Ian Wright did for the Saturday show.

Do you want to see Gary Lineker back in the MOTD hotseat? Tell us in the comments section below.

Defoe tweeted on Saturday: "It's always such a privilege to work with BBC MOTD. But tomorrow I have taken the decision to stand down from my punditry duties."

With the highlights show that made BBC One stripped of any Match of the Day branding, crowd noise provided the only solace as five minutes were gifted to Liverpool's shock defeat at Bournemouth.

The show continued in the same format until a graphic of the current table brought the 20-minute show to an end with an unfamiliar jingle.

Unsurprisingly, Lineker was not shown in the crowd at the King Power Stadium as his beloved Leicester were swept aside 3-1 by Graham Potter's Chelsea.

A review from one viewer said: "No theme tune. No commentary. Just raw stadium noise. God it’s weird. Makes you realise how important commentary is to the viewing experience."

With Football Focus and Final Score getting the chop on Saturday, BBC bosses face a huge seven days in a bid to get thing back to some normality.

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