Gary Neville was unimpressed by Gabriel Martinelli’s actions in the final moments of Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool earlier this month, with his comments leading to complaints.
Comments made by Gary Neville last week sparked a complaint to Ofcom (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
More than 560 complaints have been made to Ofcom following Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville’s comments about the incident involving Gabriel Martinelli and the injured Conor Bradley in Arsenal’s draw with Liverpool last week.
In the final seconds of the goalless game, Martinelli attempted to push Bradley off the pitch as he lay on the touchline, angering the Liverpool defender’s teammates. The Brazilian’s actions were widely condemned and Martinelli later apologized on social media to Bradley, who was carried away on a stretcher and required surgery for a knee injury.
Commenting on the match, Neville said at the time: “You can’t take him off the pitch. You can’t do that. It’s very bad. There needs to be an apology. Bradley is being carried off on a stretcher. To be honest, I’m angry at Martinelli. You can’t take him off the pitch. You can’t do that. There needs to be an apology. Bradley is being carried off on a stretcher. To be honest, I’m angry at Martinelli.”
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“I don’t know how the Liverpool players didn’t beat him so hard and give him a red card. It’s absolutely disgraceful.”
A new report in The Mail reveals that Neville’s comments were well received by viewers, with 567 complaints being lodged with Ofcom regarding Sky’s coverage of the game. This is the highest number ever in 2026.
Neville branded Gabriel Martinelli an ‘idiot’ for his actions towards Conor Bradley (Image: )
Neville’s comments were picked up by fans online after the game, but he was not the only Sky Sports pundit to criticize Martinelli, with Roy Keane describing the forward’s actions as an “utter disgrace”.
Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge also condemned Martinelli’s actions, saying: “It’s a shame to see. There’s passion, there’s a winner, there’s the desire to help your team-mates, but as a footballer you have to respect him.”
Martinelli, who was shown a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor after the incident, gave his version of events on social media, saying: “Conor and I have sent messages and I have already apologized to him. I really couldn’t understand that he was seriously injured in the heat of that moment.”
“We deeply apologize for the way we reacted. We will once again do our best to help Connor recover quickly.”
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