Nottingham Forest are seeking assurances from Gary Neville ahead of the new Premier League campaign before welcoming him back into the City Ground.
Forest banned the former Manchester United defender from attending the club's 2024/25 season finale against Chelsea in a broadcasting capacity.
The club took exception to Neville's public criticism of owner Evangelos Marinakis, where he condemned the Forest chief for entering the pitch and having words with manager Nuno Espirito Santo following a 2-2 draw with Leicester City.
During that fixture, Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi suffered a serious abdominal injury which required surgery.
While Neville faces no official ban, The Guardian reports there should be no expectation the Salford City owner will be accommodated as things stand, which says a lot about the extent of the rift. The club are demanding assurances that Neville will exercise greater restraint in his commentary regarding Marinakis before changing their position.
Forest contacted Sky Sports to lodge a formal complaint about Neville following the Leicester match, after the pundit had confirmed he was due to be in attendance for the side's final match of the season.
Neville had written on X: "Scandalous from that Forest owner. Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that."
The club responded with a strongly worded statement in which they condemned the 'fake news' from those suggesting the owner was furious with Espirito Santo following Leicester's late equaliser.
The club said: "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.
Evangelos Marinakis speaks to Nuno Espírito Santo
Awoniyi's injury was apparently the spark of Evangelos Marinakis' outburst (Image: Getty Images)
"Baseless and ill-informed outrage for the purposes of personal social media traction serves no one – least of all the injured player."
Following that, Neville addressed the statement on his podcast, saying "Sorry Mr Marinakis" in a mocking tone.
But that was not the first falling out the parties have suffered. In April 2024, Neville alleged that the club were acting like 'a mafia gang'. Marinakis subsequently threatened legal action against Sky.
Forest received an apology for the wording Neville used whilst discussing the statement the Premier League side issued to illustrate their frustrations with refereeing decisions following a defeat to Everton.
In a statement, the broadcaster wrote: "Sky Sports have discussed with Gary the language used and its potential to cause offence.“ Sky also apologised "for any offence caused”.
Neville has not worked at the City Ground since those comments and was due to make his return for the game against Chelsea before being rejected for accreditation.
Neville responded by saying: "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.”