If Sunday’s clash between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea wasn’t dramatic enough, the decision to ban Gary Neville from the City Ground has certainly added to it.
Ever since Neville slammed Evangelos Marinakis for entering the pitch at full time in the Leicester City draw, there has been a spat between the pundit and the club that has rumbled on.
Marinakis later clarified that he was only on the pitch due to concerns over Taiwo Awoniyi, leading to Forest aiming a sly dig at Neville in a statement surrounding the Nigerian striker’s health.
Calls for Neville to apologise to the club went unanswered, which has led to this remarkable situation of the Sky Sports man not being permitted to attend Sunday’s match, but the issues between Neville and Marinakis go back much further.
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
What started Evangelos Marinakis and Gary Neville’s dispute
Marinakis has always been outspoken, which has seen the Forest media team put in difficult situations at times. Most famously, Forest released a scathing VAR statement that claimed the video assistant was a Luton fan, which was inappropriate during the club’s relegation fight.
It’s this statement that started the Neville and Marinakis issues, as in response to the statement, Neville said live on Sky Sports: “It’s like a mafia gang statement. I mean, honestly, what the hell are they playing at? It’s like a petulant child; it’s embarrassing.”
Sky Sports had to apologise for Neville’s comments after the fact, but they understandably upset Marinakis, who threatened legal action against the former Manchester United defender.
Speaking to the Daily Mail at the time, Marinakis said: “I need to be careful – because our lawyers have already been in contact with Sky regarding Neville and this is not over yet. The comments and words he used were inappropriate, didn’t correspond with reality and harmed people.”
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So, while Neville’s comments surrounding the Awoniyi situation didn’t help, they certainly weren’t the start of the issue that has only escalated in recent weeks.
Gary Neville responds to Nottingham Forest stadium ban
Funnily enough, Neville predicted Forest to beat Chelsea on Sunday in what was perhaps an olive branch to Marinakis, not one that the Forest owner had any interest in taking him up on, though.
Neville said on Instagram: “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. 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.”
It certainly is unprecedented, but not surprising given the long-standing issues between Marinakis and Neville. The City Ground will hopefully be a place for celebration on Sunday, and the presence of Neville had the potential to add unwanted unrest.