Due to Nottingham Forest’s dispute with Sky after his’mafia’ remark last weekend, Gary Neville has said he will not be covering the team’s Premier League matchup against title-chasing Manchester City on Sunday.
After Forest’s 2-0 loss to Everton on Sunday, they appeared to cast doubt on the impartiality of VAR Stuart Attwell, who backs Luton Town, on social media. This was in response to three of their penalty appeals being denied, and Attwell’s apparent failure to advise referee Anthony Taylor to visit the pitchside monitor to review any of them.
Neville described Forest’s social media post, which promised to “consider its options,” as “like a mafia-gang statement.” In response to Neville’s remark, Forest is now thinking about suing Sky, although the network is
Neville has since stated that he will be covering a different game for Sky and won’t be at the City Ground.
In an interview with Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, he disclosed that he received a tweet this week from a Forest supporter that said, “I’m just wondering whether you’re at the Nottingham Forest and Man City game.” I am requesting 27,000 buddies.
I called Sky and said, “I need Sunday’s North London Derby!” No, by the way, I’m at the North London Derby.
Neville also called for the resignation of Mark Clattenburg, the referee analyst for Nottingham Forest, following the club’s social media statement on Sunday. Clattenburg started working for the team in February.
The former defender for Manchester United reaffirmed his criticism of Clattenburg, claiming that he is actually hindering the team and providing them with a reason for their defeats in games.
Neville went on, “You’ve got Clattenburg crawling along to the CEO (whispering) almost like a Navy Seal in the director’s box.”
“I requested his resignation because, should he truly have seen the tweet that was sent out by Luton, he would need to either disassociate himself from it or admit his involvement in it.” I say “wow” if he’s involved in that.
You do realize that football is the second element of it? If you are the manager of that football team, they have only won one game in the last ten since Mark Clattenburg took over. They had won four of the ten games prior.
You never, ever give employees or football players a way out. He’s given them a reason not to prevail. That may sound absurd, but when you include in that negativity, Neco Williams—who is presumably a pretty excellent player—is going to talk about officials when he comes out on Sunday.
‘They’re all consumed about referees, and they’ve given themselves an excuse, everyone’s against us. It’s not working for them this strategy of the way in which it’s going.
‘What they need to do is switch their mentality completely and forget about referees. Get Clattenburg out the director’s box so the camera stops going on him and concentrate on football, because they’re going to go down if they’re not careful.’
Roy Keane, who played for Forest between 1990 and 1993, also disapproved of his old club’s actions, referencing owner Evangelos Marinakis coming on the pitch at full time when a refereeing decision went against his side in their match with Liverpool last month.
He insisted Forest’s approach towards referees will not improve their chances of staying in the top flight.
‘It’s very messy. Forest, looking back over the last few months, I don’t think they’ve shown any class, that’s the way I’d look at it,’ he said.
‘The way they’re carrying on, they were on the pitch against Liverpool, you look at the ownership there. I was lucky to play for Forest, brilliant club when I was there. I don’t like the type of behaviour at the moment, what they’re doing.
‘They’re entitled to come out and defend themselves and fight their own corner, of course. But just looking at them over the last few years, I don’t like what I see with the behaviour that’s gone on at ownership-level.
He then addressed Neville, adding: ‘You remember with a referee coming to United years ago? He gave us a chat about how he works.
‘And he said if you keep having a go at me during a game and I have to make a decision, and he was looking at me, if you’re giving me stick and I have a decision to make against you, I will go against you. That’s human nature if you keep getting on my back.
‘Forest have this idea, all of a sudden, the referees are going to be “do you know what? Let’s have a bit of sympathy towards Forest”. I think that’s just going to go against them. The way they keep coming out with these statements and badgering on the pitch.
‘You fight your corner, but not when coaching staff and owners are coming on the pitch. In terms of Forest’s attitude of the world is against us, now steady on a bit.’
