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BBC crisis escalates as players and stars rally behind soccer host Gary Lineker

The BBC was forced to scrap much of its weekend sports programming as it scrambled to stem a crisis over its suspension of Lineker for comments criticizing the British government's asylum policy.

LONDON — The BBC was forced to scrap much of its weekend sports programming as the network scrambled to stem an escalating crisis over its suspension of soccer host Gary Lineker for comments criticizing the British government's new asylum policy.

As a growing number of English Premier League players and BBC presenters rallied to Lineker's support and refused to appear on the airwaves on Saturday, Britain's national broadcaster faced allegations of political bias and suppressing free speech, as well as praise from some Conservative politicians.

The broadcaster said it would air only "limited sport programming" from "Match of the Day," a popular soccer highlights show, over a Twitter post that compared to that used in Nazi Germany.

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