A charity supporting people with sight loss has called out the BBC for not featuring any commentary in its shortened Match of the Day.
The football programme aired on Saturday March 11 despite Gary Lineker being asked to step away after he compared the Home Office’s immigration policy with Nazi Germany.
The pundit’s peers, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, also boycotted MOTD, resulting in a 20-minute version of the show airing instead, without a presenter, pundits or match commentary.
In a tweet, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has criticised the broadcaster for its lack of accessibility, after a blind content creator and disability advocate named Jurgen brought up the issue.
‘I am so angry, it was bad enough what @BBCSport @BBCAccessAll did too @GaryLineker but to put on @BBCMOTD without any commentary is not just inaccessible, it is a breach of the equalities act! It shows how little they care for disabled viewers! #Accessibility #Disability #MOTD [sic],’ he wrote.
The charity reshared Jurgen’s tweet, while adding: ‘The BBC needs to do better.
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Despite Match of the Day being shortened on Saturday, half a million more people tuned in to watch in comparison to the previous week’s programme.
The latest episode was said to have garnered 2.6million viewers, while last week’s had 2.1m, according to Barb’s overnight figures.
On Friday March 10, the BBC released a statement that read: ‘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.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC for comment.
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