Gary Neville Criticised For Reaction to Gabriel Martinelli and Conor Bradley Incident

Some Sky Sports viewers are demanding that Gary Neville be suspended from his position following his comments about Gabriel Martinelli during Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Thursday night. The Premier League leaders struggled at the Emirates Stadium, and their frustrations against a depleted Arne Slot side, who dominated the second half, boiled over as Arsenal failed to capitalise on dropped points from teams around them.

Conor Bradley was stretchered off after appearing to injure his knee off the ball. As he went down near the touchline, Martinelli rushed over, threw the ball at him and then aggressively tried to push him off the pitch, so play could continue. With the Brazilian already on a yellow card, he was fortunate to be allowed to play out the remainder of the match.

Martinelli has since apologised online for his unsportsmanlike conduct, though many viewers want to see him face retrospective punishment. The same calls are now being directed at Neville, whose commentary at the time went off the handle as he attempted to describe the incident while scuffles followed.

Related

Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli Issues Statement After Being Slammed For Conor Bradley Incident

Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli has spoken out after facing heavy backlash for pushing injured Conor Bradley off the pitch.

Reds goalkeeper Alisson was one of the first to arrive at the scene as scuffles broke out between the two sets of players, with Martinelli’s compatriot acting as a peacemaker as any hard feelings were quickly diffused. Neville, however, took a very different approach, suggesting that the Liverpool players should have done more to defend their teammate. He said (watch below):

His inciteful comments haven’t earnt him many supporters among the Arsenal fanbase online, with one X user remarking: “Gary Neville should be suspended for saying Liverpool players should hit Martinelli on live TV,” while tagging Sky Sports. Elsewhere, a second added: “It’s about time Neville is replaced,” as a third wrote: “Poor from Neville and Sky Sports.”

While another stated: “Neville should be suspended for that commentary,” the retired defender also received a lot of support from those who were just as stunned by Martinelli’s actions.

That said, most have been negative, with some Arsenal supporters reporting the pundit to Ofcom, as a fifth user concluded: “Neville should be suspended by Sky Sports, to be honest. No matter whether you think someone is wrong or not, you’re supposed to stay professional. Inciting violence during a football match because you don’t agree with another wrongdoing is disgraceful tbh, and we don’t pay to listen to that!”

Arsenal’s Premier League Title Chances

There’s no doubt that a midweek win against Liverpool – something the Gunners were expected to achieve with relative ease given the defending champions’ poor form and injury crisis, which forced them to play without a recognised striker – would have boosted Arsenal’s title hopes to the point where the rest of the chasing pack would have started to accept they are almost nailed-on champions in waiting for the first time in over two decades.

However, a draw is far from disastrous, with Mikel Arteta and his side still six points clear at the top. The main concern may instead be the manner in which they lost their composure in the second half, knowing how sharply their performance levels dropped. Up until the closing minutes of the second period, the Gunners had just 25 per cent possession and failed to register a single shot until stoppage time, all on their own patch.

It is also fortunate for Arsenal that both Manchester City and Aston Villa were held to a point this gameweek – with City now drawing each of their last three matches – otherwise the title race could look far tighter than the current standings suggest.