FOOTBALL pundit Michael Stewart continues to be absent from the BBC - two weeks after he was dropped for a 'at least five days' over his rant about Rangers communications chief Jim Traynor.
Mr Stewart's place on Sportscene on Sunday night continued to be taken by former Scotland international James McFadden as the BBC last night could not give any indication about if he will ever make a return.
The row came after a discussion on Radio Scotland's Sportsound show about an Alfredo Morelos interview, aired earlier in the day by Sky Sports, in which the Colombian striker said he had been subject to racial abuse "on and off the pitch" since moving to Scotland three years ago.
Mr Stewart alleged the interview for Sky Sports with Mr Morelos in which he reportedly made allegations he had been racially abused in Scotland was staged to deflect from the impact of the story.
He went on to make accusations about Mr Traynor.
Mr Stewart also spoke about Mr Morelos' reported claims that he had been racially abused in Scotland in the Sky Sports interview and questioned the evidence.
The BBC issued an apology over Mr Stewart's comments, with presenter Kenny McIntyre saying : "Before we get to tonight's topics we apologise to James Traynor for the discussion on Sportsound last night.
"It was not fair and balanced and he did not have the opportunity to respond.
"On this occasion we did not adhere to our editorial values and standards and we have reminded those concerned of their responsibility to follow our guidelines while working for the BBC."
Celtic lodged an official complaint with TV watchdog Ofcom after Alfredo Morelos' mis-translated interview on Sky Sports.
Sky later issued an apology to Celtic and pulled the interview from their channel and social media platforms.
On Sunday Sportscene presenter Jonathan Sutherland was joined by Mr McFadden and Steven Thompson for the flagship BBC Scotland sports show.
A petition calling for Mr Stewart's reinstatement has been supported by nearly 19,000 so far.
Among the signatories is the former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan, an ardent Celtic fan, who said: "His integrity and life experience in football make him a competent and credible pundit.
"His removal from the BBC to date is a disgrace. "Fans want people with courage and integrity to comment and commentate, not empty vessels willing to say as little as possible to [avoid upsetting] the powers that be."
Three days after Mr Stewart's outburst, the BBC broke its silence over his disappearance from the airwaves and from TV screens, saying: "Our editorial guidelines were not adhered to on Sportsound and we're still in discussions to ensure there's no repeat of that in future.
"While those discussions continue, Michael Stewart will not appear on any of our sports programmes."
On Sunday night, the BBC would make no further comment on Mr Stewart's continued absence and would not give a timescale as to when any decision would be made over the ex-footballer's future.
Mr Stewart appeared to making a comment about the BBC row on Saturday afternoon when discussing online the Scottish Football Association's decision to order a new appeal panel to convene to assess James Keatings' controversial second booking for Inverness in the Tunnock's Challenge Cup against Rangers Colts.
The SFA announced that the failure of one member of the appeal panel to fully consider evidence left them forced to take the unprecedented decision to quash the original verdict and start again afresh.
Mr Stewart remarked: "My faith in some common sense within big organisations is restored slightly."
Immediately after being dropped to allow for talks over the row, Mr Stewart remarked in a Tweet: "My faith in common sense within big organisations is restored slightly."
His only previous online public comment about the affair came a day after the row erupted, when he tweeted: "Impossible to thank everyone who has been in touch today, it’s been incredible the variety of people who’ve been in contact, but I appreciate every word of support and encouragement. I’ll keep saying it as I see it."
He tweeted a version in Spanish.
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