SKY SPORTS has issued a slavish apology to Nottingham Forest after Gary Neville’s ‘mafia gang’ comment.
THE Manchester United The legend criticised Forest’s ownership after they issued a blunt statement following their chaotic 2-0 defeat to Everton last season.
Forest were left angry after being denied what they considered to be three clear penalties in their clash with the Toffees on April 21.
The club are understood to have sent Sky a legal letter of complaint and today Neville and the broadcaster issued a joint statement.
It read: “In response to a Nottingham Forest statement outlining their grievances against PGMOL following their match against Everton on 21 April, Gary Nevillecommenting on Super Sunday, was highly critical of Nottingham Forest’s approach.
“Sky Sports I spoke with Gary about the language used and its potential to offend.
“Gary has agreed not to use the same or similar terms in future coverage.
“Sky Sports apologises to Nottingham Forest for any offence caused by this language.”
After the Everton game, Forest released a statement on social media in which they revealed they had “advised PGMOL that VAR assistant (Stuart Attwell) is a Luton fan”, who were among the teams battling to avoid relegation.
Neville described Forest’s statement as “that of a mafia gang”.
He said, “I mean, honestly, what are they playing at? It’s like a capricious child, it’s embarrassing.
“And some of the things they’re saying in there, like the idea of some kind of cheating deduction because there’s a VAR official at Stockley Park who’s a Luton fan, are a scandal, and they’ll pay for it.”
Neville also insisted at the time that the former referee Marc Clattenburg should resign from his position as a consultant at Forest.
Clattenburg officially resigned from his post in April and has since admitted that his role had been misunderstood.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was furious with Neville’s post-match comments on Sky Sports.
The controversial defeat at Goodison Park left Nuno Espirito Santo’s side fearing relegation, with the club later demanding audio from VAR officials.
Fortunately for Forest, they avoided relegation to the Championship by six points despite receiving a four-point deduction for breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
