Gary Neville apologises for bad commentary during Manchester United victory over Burnley

The Sky Sports pundit and commentator admitted he was distracted throughout the game at Turf Moor

Jack Rathborn
Wednesday 13 January 2021 08:57 EST
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Gary Neville opens up on a low point in his career

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Gary Neville has apologised for his commentary during Manchester United’s victory over Burnley on Tuesday night.

Paul Pogba’s winner saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side move to the top of the Premier League, three points clear of Liverpool, who will host the Red Devils on Sunday.

Neville went against the consensus on several contentious decisions at Turf Moor, but claimed afterwards his commentary was influenced by his producer providing him with updates from Salford’s game at Scunthorpe.

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“Apologies for the commentary tonight,” Neville wrote on Twitter. “Stockley park all over the place, producer in my ear saying Salford have scored in the 92min and United gone top of the league! Delirious! I will be better Sunday.”

Among the controversial decisions, Harry Maguire appeared to head home at the back post, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Erik Pieters.

Many deemed the contact to be minimal, but Neville said: “Maybe it's the arm on the back of the head. Maybe it's the elbow in the back, he's using it as you ordinarily would do for leverage.”

Luke Shaw also faced a nervous four-minute wait when VAR checked a challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson, with the left-back eventually escaping with a yellow card.

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“I think it's a foul definitely by Luke Shaw because he misses the ball and then follows through,” Neville said, despite pictures showing Shaw making contact with the ball.

“I think he could be in trouble Luke Shaw looking at it again, because he actually puts his left leg out towards, but we'll see.”

While a third moment in the game saw the United captain subjected to another VAR check over a potential handball inside the penalty area. Referee Kevin Friend eventually resumed play, though Neville’s instinct was that Maguire “could be in trouble”.

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