Gary Rinker is no longer the host of the match of the day, and the former presenter’s successor shares details of another change to the long-term BBC programme
The new hosting team will not only change to games at this season’s BBC flagship football show. The station will also rebrand the Sunday Show, previously known as the second day match, dropping “2” and keeping it on an equal footing on Saturday night episodes.
Gary Reinker held his final hour match on the final day of the 2024-25 season. He was replaced by a three-anchor spinning team, Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.
“Why is that the top job (Saturday’s show)?” Chapman asked in an interview with Radio Times. “I’m really intrigued because I’ve never considered Saturday and Sunday different.”
Logan agreed: “In many weeks, the second day’s game was a stronger lineup. The games that day were Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday (due to the highlights of the Champions League).
“It’s not the first day’s match, it’s just the second day’s match, and it’s just the day’s match. That’s the most noticeable change except that Gary is not involved.”
read more: Transfer News Live: Isaac’s Newcastle Rejection, Arsenal’s latest in Ez, Mann UTD and Liverpoolread more: Gary Lineker’s first confirmed day line-up match since BBC exit
Logan and Chapman have covered BBC football in recent seasons, but Cates has locked in Sky Sports live coverage. On the arrival of the trio, the BBC will rebrand the Champions League highlight show as “Match of the Day: Champions League” and will rebrand the Midweek Show on Saturday, Sunday with the same branding.
Chapman lined up to host the first Saturday of the season, with Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney joining him. Cates will present his duties next Wednesday, hosting a highlight show following the Super Cup clash between Spurs and Paris Saint-Germain.
Lineker’s exit as Match of the Day host was confirmed by the end of last season, but he was scheduled to continue holding coverage of the BBC’s FA Cup and World Cup. But that changed after he shared a pro-Palestin video that attracted criticism of rat emoji use.
“I missed it (a mouse emoji). To be honest, I wouldn’t have understood the meaning anyway until it was pointed out to me,” Rhineker told the new world.
“I really didn’t see it. I’m not an idiot. You may have never known it was anti-Semitism’s plunder, but you’d be wondering why someone put the rats there. Why don’t you merge rodents with humans?
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