Gary Neville has stated that he did not like something Nottingham Forest did on Saturday following their defeat to Liverpool.
Forest lost 1-0, with Darwin Nunez scoring in the 99th minute, and Neville spoke on The Gary Neville Podcast.
So, what did Neville say about Forest following their game against Liverpool? Let’s look more closely.
What Gary Neville said regarding the situation with Forest
Neville doesn’t appear to have much sympathy for Forest, most likely because it didn’t happen to his beloved Manchester United.
Forest were the unfortunate recipients of yet another awful refereeing judgment, this time from Paul Tierney.
When the game was stopped owing to Ibrahim Konate’s injury, Callum Hudson-Odoi had possession of the ball.
The Forest man did not get the ball back, as Tierney gave Caoimhin Kelleher the opportunity to punt it long instead.
Neville believes that Forest’s concession one minute and 50 seconds after that incident had no effect on how things turned out.
He told The Gary Neville Podcast, “I get the idea today that we are making a run-of-the-mill error, something you might see pretty frequently in a season, as opposed to a major, massive catastrophe.
“The owner on the pitch and the Clattenburg bullshit, I can’t have it. I mean, I can’t buy into it. I believe we are stretching the borders of creating greater rage and hatred toward referees, and at some point it will become pretty hazardous.
“You can’t complain about a refereeing decision that occurred 1 minute and 50 seconds before you conceded a goal. One minute fifty? Fair right, in five or ten seconds, I believe you would be furious if they scored on the other end of the pitch.
“Yes, there’s an error, and there’s no doubt about it; Forest should have had the ball, and the game would have changed, but there’s no guarantee Liverpool wouldn’t have scored differently.
“Liverpool have got that something about them at the moment which you that is a likely thing to happen.”
Neville makes statements that seem a touch rich.
Neville is a Sky Sports pundit. Every week, Sky Sports airs a programme called Ref Watch, which is aimed to mock and dismiss referees.
So, Gary, you’ll have to excuse us, but your comments about Forest are a little rich here.
Should Evangelos Marinakis have come down to the pitch? Absolutely not. Is he entitled to be on the pitch at his own football club? Yes.
Neville makes some valid concerns, including that no one wants the situation with referees to turn hazardous, similar to the horrific incidents in Turkey a few months ago.
However, Forest must apply some pressure because the situation has grown sad, with stupid judgments occurring every week.
They say that everything will even out throughout the course of the season. On that premise, Forest should expect around seven penalties between now and May.
Neville’s statements are noble to some extent, and referees at the grassroots level want more protection.
However, at the highest level, they are paid well, and some football clubs have simply had enough.
