FOOTBALL fans are in stitches after Jeff Stelling made light of Gary Lineker's BBC ban.
Stelling opened Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday programme with a clever quip about needing to be on form today.
There will be more eyeballs on him today as a result of Football Focus being taken off air - and Stelling joked he was auditioning for a new job.
It comes after Lineker was withdrawn from his Match of the Day duties.
Several pundits soon also pulled out including Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.
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Stelling, who has shown support for Lineker over his BBC dispute, could not help but joke about the situation.
He said: "I need to be at the top of my game today because there's a top-notch football presenter available on Saturdays now."
Fans found Stelling's wisecrack hilarious and praised his comment on Twitter.
One wrote: "Jeff Stelling’s opening line as perfect as expected on Soccer Saturday."
Another added: "Fantastic intro ????"
A third said: "Hilarious first comment on Soccer Saturday I loved it ????"
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And another commented: "Jeff Stelling brilliant as ever."
Stelling showed support for Lineker and Wright after the latter said he would not be appearing on Match of the Day out of solidarity for Lineker.
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He replied saying: "Well played Wrighty."
Match of the Day later went ahead as a highlights reel without presenters, pundits or commentators.
It lasted just 20 minutes and didn't even feature the iconic theme tune and opening credits.
