Gary Neville was targeted by Arsenal fans who targeted the Sky Sports pundit following his comments about Gabriel Martinelli during the win over Chelsea.
Gary Neville angered Arsenal fans with his comments about Gabriel Martinelli (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Gary Neville was the subject of brutal chants from the Arsenal crowd during the win over Chelsea as he labeled Gabriel Martinelli a “disgrace” and made his feelings public to the fan base.
Gunners faithful have vowed the Sky Sports commentator is in their bad books after comments he made about Gunners players following Conor Bradley’s injury last week. Martinelli tried to push the Liverpool ace off the pitch as he was undergoing treatment.
The incident happened in the dying moments and the Arsenal ace did not want the treatment to take so long. What he didn’t know was that Bradley was suffering a season-ending knee injury. Neville was furious at Martinelli’s actions and took aim, but the Gunners fans hit back.
During the 3–2 win at Stamford Bridge, they shouted “Gary Neville, he’s awful, he’s awful”.
This came after Neville said in commentary: “You can’t push him off the pitch. You can’t do that. It’s too bad. I think an apology is due. Bradley is being carried away on a stretcher. I’m mad at Martinelli, to be honest. It’s a shame. I’m surprised a Liverpool player didn’t go out there and punch Martinelli!”
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Neville’s suggestion that Liverpool players should have had sex with Martinelli led to a staggering 576 complaints to Ofcom. This is far above the average number of complaints normally received for the show and is believed to be more than any other show this year.
Regarding the backlash against Neville, an Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are assessing these complaints against the Broadcasting Code but have not yet decided whether to investigate.”
Martinelli was involved in a controversial incident with Conor Bradley (Image: Getty Images)
Martinelli immediately raised his hand and apologized to Bradley, writing on Instagram: “Conor and I have messaged each other and I have already apologized to him. I truly did not understand that he was seriously injured in the heat at that time. I am deeply sorry for the way I reacted. I will once again do everything in my power to help Conor make a speedy recovery.”
Despite Neville’s rant, Reds manager Arne Slott doesn’t seem as furious as he claims, saying: “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he seems like a good guy.
“The problem for him, and it’s also a problem with football in general, is that he wastes so much time at the end of the game and during the game that players are pretending to be injured. So it can be frustrating when players try to score a goal where you think they’re wasting time. You can’t ask Martinelli to think that clearly in the 94th minute.”
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