Match of the Day MELTDOWN! The BBC’s decision came as Gary Lineker’s co-hosts rallied around him

Match of the Day will be broadcast without a presenter or pundits on Saturday night following a massive boycott of its star names caused by the BBC’s suspension of Gary Lineker.

At one point on an extraordinary day, the BBC was facing the prospect of canceling tonight’s show entirely, as commentators and production staff also threatened to walk out in support of the former England captain.

The cancellation would have put them in breach of a £70m a year contract with the Premier League.

“In the current situation, I think anything is possible,” a senior figure in the Match of the Day team told Sportsmail an hour before the BBC confirmed the show would go ahead in a statement broadcast at 9:15pm.

“Some of our experts have said they do not wish to appear on the show while we try to resolve the situation with Gary,” the statement read.

Alex Scott has been ruled out of the race to replace Gary Lineker as the show’s host.

Ian Wright, Alan Shearer, Alex Scott, Micah Richards and Jermaine Jenas confirmed via Twitter that they were showing solidarity with their friend Gary Lineker.

The decision to suspend Lineker was made by BBC Director General Tim Davie.

“We understand your position and have decided that the show will focus on match action without studio introductions or experts.”

Former England striker Ian Wright led the comeback in support of Lineker having spoken to his former England team-mate earlier in the day.

Wright was the first pundit to walk out, within minutes of Lineker’s suspension, in what he described as an act of “solidarity”, with fellow regulars Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Jermaine Jenas announcing that they would not be on the show.

Potential replacements for Lineker to host the show were also ruled out. Former Leona Alex Scott appeared to mock the BBC by tweeting an image of left-wing US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders saying ‘No! Not me”, while regular Match of the Day 2 host Mark Chapman also turned down an invitation to replace him. Gabby Logan was unavailable as she is presenting the BBC’s Six Nations coverage.

The threat persists that some commenters will refuse to participate. The extent of the backlash from his star talent took the BBC by surprise, as no contingency plans had been put in place to cover Lineker’s absence.

While the decision to suspend Lineker was made by BBC CEO Tim Davie, after his highest-paid star refused to apologize for comparing the government’s asylum policy to Nazi Germany, it fell to the BBC’s corporation sports tidy up the mess.

Ian Wright’s friends and colleagues backed his decision to avoid Match of the Day this week

Fans will have to get used to not seeing Gary Lineker on Saturday night for the foreseeable future.

After being snubbed by their pundits’ sports director Barbara Slater, television sports chief Philip Bernie and Match of the Day editor Richard Hughes spent Friday night in crisis talks with production staff. to ensure that the program could continue.

While the presentation teams and pundits are behind Lineker, BBC sources have told Sportsmail there is a split among the production staff.

Some are sympathetic to Lineker, but others feel he is asking for preferential treatment by demanding that he be able to ignore the BBC’s impartiality guidelines.

Another widely held view was that while former big-name players who work for various broadcasters can afford to turn down an appearance, refusing to show up for work would have made it much more difficult for the staff.

Lineker’s tweet this week that led him to stop leading the Match of the Day