According to reports, Nottingham Forest’s decision to ‘ban’ Gary Neville has ‘triggered alarms’ at the Premier League, with a ‘rule change possible’.
The Man Utd legend was due to attend Nottm Forest‘s final game of the 2024/25 season as they host fellow Champions League hopefuls Chelsea.
However, it emerged on Friday that the Premier League side have taken the shock decision to ‘ban’ Neville from the City Ground and ‘requested Sky Sports change its team for the game’.
This decision sees Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis reach a new extreme level of pettiness amid claims Neville has been banned because he supposedly has a ‘grudge’ against the club.
It has also been suggested that the pundit has accepted this ‘unprecedented action’ and he posted a statement on Instagram to explain his side of the story.
“I was contacted by Sky Sports earlier on in the week and told that I would be commentating at the City Ground on Sunday for the Nottingham Forest v Chelsea match,” Neville said.
“I was informed yesterday by Sky Sports that Nottingham Forest would not give me an accreditation or access to the stadium as a co-commentator. I’ve had no choice but to withdraw from the coverage.
“I’ve dished out my fair share of criticism and praise in the last 14 years of doing this job and have never come close to this unprecedented action.
“Personally, I think it’s disappointing that a great club like Nottingham Forest have been reduced to making such a decision. Whilst they have every right to choose who they let into their own stadium, it’s symptomatic of things that have happened over the last 12 months with the club.
“I wish the coaching staff, players and fans of the club all the best in their quest to achieve Champions League football.”
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Now, a follow-up report from The Daily Mail claims the Premier League and Sky are set to ‘hold further talks’ regarding this situation, which has ‘triggered alarms’ at the league’s headquarters.
It is noted that a ‘rule change is a possibility’ to prevent this from happening in the future, with the Premier League and Sky ‘concerned by the precedent set by the club’.
After Neville broke his silence, the club spoke out to shut down the supposed ‘fake news online’.
‘We urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgment and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context,’ the club said.
‘Baseless and ill-informed outrage for the purposes of personal social media traction serves no one – least of all the injured player.’