2 weeks ago
45
Gary Neville has faced accusations of unprofessionalism while commentating on Manchester United's victory over Liverpool.
It's far from the first occasion the Red Devils icon has been hit with such criticism. Neville, 50, was behind the microphone for Sky Sports during Sunday's thrilling encounter, which delivered drama from the opening whistle to the last. Bryan Mbeumo put the visitors in front after just 60 seconds, and the scoreline stayed at 1-0 until Cody Gakpo, who had rattled the frame of the goal three times previously, slotted home from close quarters in the 78th minute.
With both teams pushing for a decisive goal, it was Ruben Amorim's players who delivered the knockout punch when Harry Maguire's header from a delightful Bruno Fernandes delivery found the back of Giorgi Mamardashvili's net, inflicting a fourth successive loss on the Reds.
The thousands of travelling supporters erupted in celebration following the England defender's late strike and they were accompanied by Neville, who struggled to contain his delight on the Sky Sports broadcast.
Considering his position as co-commentator, supporters on social media expressed their dissatisfaction with Neville's response, with one X user posting: "I get it but this is so unprofessional from Gary Neville loool."
The sentiment was echoed by numerous people online, with another user questioning Neville's impartiality by stating: "Gary Neville turned from pundit to full-time United ultra in 0.5 seconds. Man forgot he's live on Sky, not in the away end."
The former England international has faced accusations of lacking professionalism in his commentary duties and even confessed to crossing the line during United's 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in April 2022.
Neville's commendation of Hannibal Mejbri sparked widespread backlash after the now-Burnley midfielder delivered two aggressive challenges within moments of entering the fray in the 84th minute.
Having already been shown a yellow card for a foul on Jordan Henderson, the Tunisian international courted danger with an equally robust tackle on Naby Keita mere seconds afterwards.
While providing commentary for Sky Sports, Neville confessed he felt "proud" of Hannibal's intensity, remarking: "To be fair, at least the kid's showing a bit of something.
"Honestly, it takes a young kid to come on and show the rest of them how to sprint to the ball and put a challenge in. I'm actually proud of him. Maybe he doesn't like the idea of Liverpool players passing round him. I wish the rest of them were the same."
It wasn't until after the final whistle that Neville acknowledged he had overstepped the mark regarding objectivity in his role.
"That is why I aired on to the slightly unprofessional side of commentary tonight," Neville said. "When I said that the kid [Mejbri] to be fair I was proud of him because he was going round trying to top people and trying to kick people.
"But he demonstrated something, he showed something. He didn't like the idea of Liverpool, at Anfield, passing it around him and the idea of Liverpool taking the mick out of him and his teammates."
English (US) ·