He won’t be on commentary duty for Sky Sports
Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville has been banned from Nottingham Forest’s City Ground stadium this weekend.
The former Manchester United defender, who won eight Premier League titles during his 19 years at the club, was heavily critical of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis earlier this month after he stormed onto the pitch to confront to manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
He’s now felt the wrath of Forest ahead of their crunch clash against Chelsea.
“I was contacted by Sky Sports earlier on in the week and told that I would be commentating at the City Ground on Sunday for the Nottingham Forest v Chelsea match. I was informed yesterday by Sky Sports that Nottingham Forest would not give me an accreditation or access to the stadium as a co-commentator,” Neville wrote on social media.
“I’ve had no choice but to withdraw from the coverage. I’ve dished out my fair share of criticism and praise in the last 14 years of doing this job and have never come close to this unprecedented action. Personally, I think it’s disappointing that a great club like Nottingham Forest have been reduced to making such a decision.
“Whilst they have every right to choose who they let into their own stadium, it’s symptomatic of things that have happened over the last 12 months with the club. I wish the coaching staff, players and fans of the club all the best in their quest to achieve Champions League football.”
The furore stems from Neville’s misinterpretation of what Marinakis was doing on the pitch.
“I feel compelled to mention that what the Nottingham Forest owner has just done on the pitch over at the City Ground is absolutely scandalous. If I were Nuno, I would be going and having a really strong word. That is an absolute scandal,” he said, but it was later revealed that the Greek boss was stressing over the fact an injured player was in the team.
“We urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgement and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context – least of all the injured player,” the club said in a statement.
“Baseless and ill-informed outrage for the purposes of personal social media traction serves no one — least of all the injured player.”
