Gary Neville got his wish this weekend. The Sky Sports pundit, who said he would be “absolutely delighted” to be taken off Manchester City games until the verdicts on the charges are settled, was nowhere near the microphone for their 3-1 defeat at the City Ground.
It was City’s first game on Sky Sports since he made the comment, leaving aside the Carabao Cup. Sky Sports confirmed Neville missed it because he was working for NBC in the United States.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Neville has never formally asked to be taken off City’s games. The timing of his trip simply meant the former Manchester United defender didn’t have to cover a third straight league defeat for Enzo Maresca’s side.
What did Gary Neville say about Man City?
Neville made the remark while recording his podcast. He said: “We were just doing the podcast then and said if you could take me off Manchester City games moving forward for the next few months until the verdicts have been heard, I would be absolutely delighted.”
He then explained why commentating on City had started to feel so awkward. “At the end of the game it is quite hard because you are imagining basically if these guilty verdicts are confirmed in January or February then Manchester City are not going to be in the position they are in and there is going to be a huge cloud hanging over the whole league, which is not good for the Premier League right now and that is what I have just recognised today.”
So when Nottingham Forest beat City 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, there was no Neville on the gantry to talk through it.
Where does the case stand?
City were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League in September. The reigning champions deny any wrongdoing and lodged an appeal within days of the verdict.
Under Premier League rules, the appeal should be finished within 12 weeks. An independent panel then has another 30 days to give its final ruling, which is why a decision is expected in the New Year.
If the appeal fails, the possible punishments run from a heavy fine to a significant points deduction, or even expulsion from the Premier League. Other voices in the game have been just as blunt, with Seamus Coleman saying the wait is “killing” the league, while some of the other clubs now want City’s books since 2018 opened up as well.
“They are blameless in all of this”
Neville was careful to separate the people running the club from those wearing the shirt. “That’s the problem for the Man City staff, players and supporters; they are blameless in all of this,” he said. “The stain, stigma, reputational damage that hits them, it’s nothing to do with them, but they have to face it on the pitch, in the stadium, week after week.”
Is Neville right to want out of City games?
There’s an honesty in what Neville said. A pundit who believes a title might be wiped out in a few months is always going to find it hard to talk up the football in front of him, and he admitted as much.
But the part City fans should hold on to is his last point. Maresca’s squad and the supporters didn’t sign off any accounts, yet they are the ones hearing about it every weekend. Three league defeats in a row is a big enough problem on its own. Until the appeal is settled, the noise around the Etihad isn’t going anywhere, with or without Neville in the commentary box.
