Jermaine Jenas, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan are in running for MOTD

2023-03-10

Jermaine Jenas, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan are in the running to step in for Gary Lineker on Match of the Day on Saturday night

As Gary Lineker ‘steps back’ from hosting MOTD, who will replace him on show?
Read more: BBC takes Lineker off air ‘after he refused to apologise for tweet’
Follow all the latest updates on the Lineker row with the MailOnline live blog

As Gary Lineker steps back from hosting Match Of The Day while he hammers out social media guidelines with the BBC, minds have naturally turned to who will replace him on screens this weekend.

There are many seasoned football pundits who could step into his shoes but it is not yet clear who will take up the mantle.

Ian Wright ruled himself out on Friday evening in ‘solidarity’ with the football presenter, who has found himself in a media storm following controversial comments about the government’s new migration policy.

Alan Shearer also said he would not be appearing on the show and Alex Scott shared a gif confirming she would not be replacing Lineker.

The BBC’s highest paid star sparked a huge political row this week after comparing the language used to launch a new government crackdown on migrants arriving across the Channel in small boats to 1930s Germany.

Previously, Mark Chapman, who presents Match Of The Day 2, has stepped in to cover for the controversial broadcaster, but other names being floated include Alex Scott and Jermaine Jenas.

Here, MailOnline takes a look at some of the people being touted as Gary Lineker’s replacement…

Gary Lineker will step back from presenting Match of the Day pending further discussions with his bosses, the BBC announced today

Ian Wright and Alan Shearer ruled themselves out on Friday evening in ‘solidarity’ with the football presenter

Mark Chapman

Mark Chapman, 49, is the host of Match Of The Day 2 and has previously stood in for Gary Lineker

The 49-year-old presenter, nicknamed ‘Chappers’, became the main host of Match Of The Day 2 in 2013.

He has had a long career in sports journalism, including hosting Sports report on BBC 5 Live and the Monday Night Club.

Mark Chapman started out as a continuity announcer, before becoming cricket correspondent for BBC North East radio.

He worked as a reporter for BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat on Sara Cox’s show before he going BBC Radio 5 Live in 2010.

Away from the BBC, Mark presents Carabao Cup coverage for Sky Sports, and is host of The Athletic’s Business of Sport podcast.

The sports broadcaster has presented from the 2014 World Cup, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Euro 2016, and the 2016 and 2022 Olympics.

Chappers is also chair of the board for the Manchester Originals cricket team and is a Non-Executive Director at Altrincham Football Club.

Gabby Logan

Gabby Logan has previously deputised for Gary Lineker on Match Of The Day and is considered a steady pair of hands

Alan Shearer, Eniola Aluko and Gabby Logan working for Amazon Prime ahead of a Premier League match in December 28, 2022

A seasoned presenter who fronted Final Score between 2009 and 2013, Gabby Logan, 49, has hosted a variety of shows on the BBC.

Jermaine Jenas

The 40-year-old former professional midfielder is in the running to replace Gary Lineker on this weekend’s Match Of The Day

Jenas became a freelance pundit following his retirement from professional football, starting out as an analyst for ITV Sport’s coverage of the 2014-2015 UEFA Europa League before joining BT Sport in November 2014

The midfielder-turned-TV-presenter Jermaine Jenas, 40, is another of the candidates to cover for Gary Lineker this weekend.

The former Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and England midfielder retired from professional football in 2016 after failing to completely recover from a knee injury.

Jenas became a freelance pundit, starting out as an analyst for ITV Sport’s coverage of the 2014-2015 UEFA Europa League before joining BT Sport in November 2014.

He appeared in a reality TV programme Time Crashers on Channel 4 in 2015, where different celebrities were challenged with living in different historical eras.

In 2017 he fronted a BBC Three documentary on knife-crime in his hometown of Nottingham and during Teenage Knife Wars he recalled being a victim of a knife-point robbery as a teenager.

He began co-presenting The One Show with Alex Jones in 2020 and became a permanent host in 2021.

Jenas acted as the Draw Conductor for the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw and is widely seen as an up-and-coming BBC star.

‘MATCH OF THE DAY’ HOST ODDS

Jermaine Jenas 6/4

Alan Shearer 5/2

Alex Scott 9/2

Mark Chapman 10/1

Gabby Logan 20/1

Micah Richards 200/1

Roy Keane 250/1

Jamie Carragher 250/1

Gary Neville 250/1

All odds courtesy of PaddyPower

A BBC spokesman said of the row: ‘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.’

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