{"id":300276,"date":"2023-12-17T10:25:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T10:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=300276"},"modified":"2023-12-17T10:25:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T10:25:09","slug":"ian-wright-stepping-back-from-match-of-the-day-at-the-end-of-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/soccer\/ian-wright-stepping-back-from-match-of-the-day-at-the-end-of-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Wright &apos;stepping back&apos; from Match of the Day at the end of season"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Ian Wright announces he will be &#8216;stepping back&#8217; from BBC&#8217;s Match of the Day at the end of the season, revealing he feels &#8216;very privileged&#8217; by his run on the iconic highlights show<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ian Wright is to quit BBC&#8217;s Match of the Day at the end of the season\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Arsenal legend looks forward to doing different things with his Saturdays\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Do Man United have what it takes to exploit Liverpool&#8217;s defensive vulnerability? It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ian Wright has announced on social media that he will be &#8216;stepping back&#8217; from BBC&#8217;s iconic Match of the Day programme at the end of the current season.<\/p>\n<p>Wright made his debut on the highlights show when he was still a player in 1997, and became a regular pundit five years later, after his retirement from football in 2000.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Arsenal legend wrote on X (formerly Twitter): &#8216;After my debut show whilst still a player in 1997 and many more memorable years, I\u2019ll be stepping back from BBC MOTD at the end of this season. I feel very privileged to have had such an incredible run on the most iconic football show in the world.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The 60-year-old pundit, who earned 33 caps for England, went on to explain his love for the show, first appearing on it as a Gunners player.<\/p>\n<p>Wright said: &#8216;Anyone that knows my story knows how much the show has meant to me since I was young boy. MOTD is my Holy Grail. On my first ever show, I told Des Lynam, \u201cThis is my Graceland\u201d. It will always be my Graceland and I will always be watching.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052389-0-image-a-21_1702804539399.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Ian Wright has announced he will be &#8216;stepping back&#8217; from BBC&#8217;s Match of the Day next year<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052851-12873627-image-a-42_1702806087795.jpg\" height=\"540\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052857-12873627-image-a-43_1702806092713.jpg\" height=\"532\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052863-12873627-image-a-44_1702806098729.jpg\" height=\"531\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052853-12873627-image-a-45_1702806106511.jpg\" height=\"181\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wright posted to social media to explain how MOTD had been his &#8216;Graceland&#8217; growing up<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052867-12873627-image-a-46_1702806160159.jpg\" height=\"491\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wright made his first appearance on the show alongside then presenter Des Lynam in 1997<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052855-12873627-image-a-47_1702806609234.jpg\" height=\"384\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He was one half of the show&#8217;s first father-and-son punditry team with Shaun Wright-Phillips<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>However, the timing of the show means that he is frequently working weekends, and this was part of his rationale for deciding to quit the show at the present time &#8211; after seeing out what looks to be an exciting race at the top and bottom of the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p>He revealed: &#8216;I\u2019m stepping back having made great friends and many great memories. This decision has been coming for a while, maybe my birthday earlier this year fast tracked it a little, but ultimately it\u2019s time to do a few more different things with my Saturdays.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I\u2019m really looking forward to my last months on the show and covering what will hopefully be an amazing Premier League title race.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Wright signed off his gratitude to Match of the Day with a number of emojis including a cool guy and a red love heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He also shared a number of images from his history with the iconic BBC programme, from his early appearances in the 1990s, to more recent shots.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wright was initially a regular on Match of the Day between 2002 and 2008, before leaving the show &#8211; only to return to the studio on a regular basis in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>In May, he became one half of the first father-and-son punditry team in Match of the Day&#8217;s illustrious history, when he appeared alongside Shaun Wright-Phillips.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Philip Bernie, the head of BBC Sport Content, said:\u00a0&#8216;Ian has been a wonderful star player on MOTD since his first appearance over 20 years ago. His insight, wit and warmth have richly entertained and informed all those watching him.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We will miss his unique style and presence when he goes at the end of this season, but we will be sure to give him the send-off he deserves.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Wright spent six years at Crystal Palace before joining Arsenal in a club record move for the Gunners in 1991.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052865-12873627-image-a-48_1702806707013.jpg\" height=\"488\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wright&#8217;s first appearance on the iconic show saw him share the stage with Trevor Brooking<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052859-12873627-image-a-49_1702806713075.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Gary Lineker currently hosts, with Wright often alongside fellow regular pundit Alan Shearer<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/17\/09\/79052869-12873627-image-a-50_1702806718058.jpg\" height=\"476\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wright was a regular Match of the Day pundit between 2002 and 2008, and again from 2015<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>After seven years in North London, the forward had spells at West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley, before retiring from the game in 2000.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The final day of the 2023-24 Premier League season sees several of Wright&#8217;s former sides in action, with Crystal Palace hosting Aston Villa, Arsenal welcoming Everton to the Emirates, and Burnley playing Nottingham Forest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12873627\/Ian-Wright-announces-stepping-BBCs-Match-Day-end-season-revealing-feels-privileged-run-iconic-highlights-show.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ian Wright announces he will be &#8216;stepping back&#8217; from BBC&#8217;s Match of the Day at the end of the season, revealing he feels &#8216;very privileged&#8217; by his run on the iconic highlights show Ian Wright is to quit BBC&#8217;s Match of the Day at the end of the season\u00a0 The Arsenal legend looks forward to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ian Wright &amp;apos;stepping back&amp;apos; from Match of the Day at the end of season - Tell My Sport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/soccer\/ian-wright-stepping-back-from-match-of-the-day-at-the-end-of-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ian Wright &amp;apos;stepping back&amp;apos; 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