Alan Shearer has reportedly slashed his Match of the Day appearances following a major falling-out with one of the BBC’s most senior sporting figures.
The Newcastle legend has been one of the programme’s most recognisable pundits for years, but is now said to be limiting his involvement to roughly one appearance per month amid tensions behind the scenes.
According to the Daily Mail, Shearer has been involved in a row with BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski as discontent grows among figures working on the broadcaster’s flagship football highlights programme.
The dispute is claimed to have been triggered by events surrounding the Sports Journalism Awards.
Match of the Day was nominated for programme of the year, but Shearer was reportedly neither informed about the nomination nor invited to attend the ceremony.
The programme subsequently won the award.
Shearer’s frustration is said to have increased when nobody from Kay-Jelski’s management team contacted him afterwards to congratulate him on the success.
The situation reportedly led to a significant row between Shearer and Kay-Jelski, with the former England captain subsequently reducing the number of Match of the Day programmes he appears on.
Alan Shearer has reportedly slashed his Match of the Day appearances following a major falling-out with one of the BBC’s most senior sporting figures
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PAThe alleged disagreement comes during a period of substantial change for the iconic BBC show.
Gary Lineker’s departure brought his long reign as presenter to an end, with Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan taking over hosting responsibilities.
But there are now claims of wider unrest involving members of the programme’s presenting, punditry and production teams.
Some staff are reportedly unhappy with Kay-Jelski’s vision for the future of Match of the Day and believe he is attempting to move BBC Sport away from its traditional television model.
Alex Kay-Jelski hasn’t been afraid to ruffle feathers at the BBC | GETTY
One source told the newspaper: “The view inside Match of the Day is that Alex’s ego has grown out of control.
“His decisions and attitude have left a lot of people very angry and upset.
“He has never worked in television before and had turned up here wanting to make changes while earning an absolute fortune.
“Some are convinced he wants to change BBC Sport from a traditional, terrestrial model into something more YouTube-like. It has caused an internal mutiny.”
The BBC has also faced questions over the composition of its punditry team after several familiar names were missing from publicity material outlining its plans for the new season.
Martin Keown, Dion Dublin, Shay Given, Stephen Warnock, Nedum Onuoha and Theo Walcott were all omitted despite previously featuring prominently in the broadcaster’s football coverage.
Alan Shearer appeared on Match of the Day over the weekend and criticised Manchester United following their defeat to Hull
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BBCHowever, suggestions of a significant clear-out have been played down, while a number of new faces are expected to appear.
Ashley Young, Robbie Keane and Toby Alderweireld are reportedly among those joining the punditry ranks, while Tottenham manager Thomas Frank is also set to feature.
Match of the Day returned for the new campaign over the weekend with Chapman in the presenter’s chair.
Shearer also appeared on the programme, with the Toon icon particularly critical of Manchester United, who lost 2-0 to newly-promoted Hull on Saturday.
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