Jimmy Hill: Gary Lineker leads tributes to influential Match of the Day pundit

Hill passed away on Saturday after suffering from Alzeihmer’s disease

Jimmy Hill has died aged 87 (PA)

Gary Lineker is leading tributes to Jimmy Hill, the distinguished analyst, broadcaster and former footballer.

Hill passed away on Saturday after being diagnosed with Alzeihmer’s disease in 2008. The 87-year-old is credited with introducing a number of changes into football, including scrapping the maximum wage for players and helping to introduce a three-point scoring system for the English Football League.

He presented the BBC’s Match of the Day from 1973 until 1989.

Lineker, who has presented Match of the Day since the 1990s, praised Hill as a "football man through and through who gave the game so much in so many ways”.

BBC pundit and former England striker Alan Shearer said he was saddened to hear the news of his death. “Footballers and football have so much to thank him for. A man who loved the game."

A number of figures from the football world also shared messages remembering Hill's achievments over decades.

Hill will be cremated at a private ceremony and a service for his friends and colleagues will take place next year.