Football fans were left reeling after former Manchester United star turned pundit Gary Neville didn’t hold back in his reaction to a bizarre moment involving a Liverpool player during a recent Premier League clash. 📺👀
In stoppage time of the tense match between Arsenal and Liverpool, Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley suffered a serious knee injury and was being stretchered off. Instead of the usual fair play pause, Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli shockingly tried to shove Bradley off the pitch and even threw the ball at him as he lay injured. 😬⚽️
Neville, working in the Sky Sports commentary box, was livid. He tore into Martinelli on live TV, branding the behaviour “disgraceful” and insisting the forward should apologise — and even go further by suggesting Liverpool players should have reacted more forcefully in defence of their teammate. His comments were raw, emotional, and instantly viral.
However, his strong language backfired. 📉 Ofcom received over 500 viewer complaints, making it one of the most complained-about football broadcasts of the year. Many fans felt Neville had crossed a line, accusing him of inciting anger and being unfairly harsh toward Martinelli.
Relationships were split. Some supported Neville’s refusal to sugarcoat what they saw as poor sportsmanship, while others — including ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown — called his reaction overblown and suggested he exaggerated the moment simply because the game lacked excitement.
Martinelli himself later publicly apologised, claiming in a social media post that he didn’t realise the injury was serious at the time and expressing deep regret for his actions.
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