Sky Sports is facing a boycott over Gary Neville’s outburst against ‘angry middle-aged white men’.
The former England and Manchester United defender, 50, has sparked an angry backlash for his diatribe about Britons fastening St George’s and Union Jack flags to lampposts.
Neville directed his ire at the nation’s flag-wavers just 24 hours after two Jewish worshippers were killed in the Yom Kippur terror attack at a Manchester synagogue.
But the £1.1million-a-year star’s rant could backfire with football fans threatening to cancel their Sky subscriptions unless the broadcaster boots him off the channel.
Neville, who provides commentary for Premier League games and punditry on Sky Sports, was back behind the microphone on Sunday for Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Brentford.
The co-owner of League Two Salford City, who reportedly pockets £1.1million-a-year for his punditry work, told how he ‘instantly’ took down a Union Jack flag that was fluttering near one of his Manchester building sites.
His comments came after the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation tragedy, where Syrian-born terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie launched a deadly knife and car rampage.
Neville began his video, which he posted to LinkedIn on Friday, by saying: ‘Seeing the news last night and the news this morning dominated by the horrific attacks within the Jewish community, just a mile from here.’
But after pausing to take a breath as he walked down the street, Neville switched his attention to the raising of flags – a movement called ‘Operation Raise the Colours’.
Operation Raise the Colours was co-founded by Andrew Currien, also known as Andy Saxon, an ally of Tommy Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – who has alleged links to the English Defence League and Britain First.
The campaign has also accepted a donation of flags from Britain First, which has denied repeated accusations that it is a far-right and fascist organisation.
Neville continued: ‘When I was driving to Salford City last night, going down Littleton Road, I seen probably 50 or 60 Union Jack flags. And on the way back I went down the parallel road, Bury New Road, which has got the Jewish community right at its heart and they’re out on the streets, defiant, not hiding or in fear.
‘I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we’re all being turned on each other. And the division that’s being created is absolutely disgusting. Mainly created by angry, middle-aged white men, who know exactly what they’re doing.
‘Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a Union Jack flag put up and I took it down instantly.’
His comments sparked an angry backlash from some online with one football fan threatening to cancel his Sky subscription unless Neville was sacked.
‘Really rate you as a pundit but Jesus Christ on a bike how the hell can you blame the likes of me for the sickening attack that was carried out by a terrorist,’ they wrote on X.
Another asked Sky Sports ‘is this the type of person you want representing your company? Really?’.
There were unfounded claims that the broadcaster had been ‘bombarded with demands’ to issue a response to Neville’s ‘outrageous claim’.
While Neville was accused that his remarks had ‘literally painted a target on the backs of the very people who have supported and payed [sic] his wages for the last 30 years’.
The Daily Mail has contacted Sky for comment.
Meanwhile, Reform UK MP Lee Anderson called the Sky Sports pundit ‘completely out of touch’.
‘I believe in free speech but on this occasion just shut up,’ he said.
Mr Anderson added: ‘You had no problem in playing in front of the England flag.
‘And the middle-aged English men you talk about are the same type men that paid your wages.’
Nick Buckley, an award-winning charity boss who was sacked for criticising Black Lives Matter, wrote on X: ‘Gary is an a***. A Champaign [sic] socialist who through indoctrination seems to hate his country and citizens.’
Reform UK Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Dame Andrea Jenkyns also waded into the row.
The former Tory said Neville was ‘Gary Lineker Mark Two’.
‘The sneering by Gary Neville, he was happy for the “white men” to pay his wages and buy his merchandise,’ she wrote.
The former defender, who also has a £100million business empire spanning hospitality, property development and media, and has appeared on Dragons’ Den, quickly moved to hit back at any claims he was being unpatriotic.
He said: ‘I played for my country 85 times, I love my country. I love Manchester and I love England, but I’ve been building in this city for 15 to 20 years and there’s no one put a Union Jack flag up in the last 15 to 20 years, so why do you have to put one up now?
‘Quite clearly it’s sending a message to everybody that there’s something you don’t like.
‘The Union Jack flag being used in a negative fashion is not right and I’m a proud supporter of England, Great Britain, of our country, and I’ll champion it anywhere in the world as one of the greatest places to live.
‘But I think we need to check ourselves, bring ourselves back to a neutral point, because we’re being pulled right and left and we don’t need to be, at all.’
While many agreed with Neville’s sentiments that Britain should be on a united front, many in the Jewish community slammed him for going off on the tangent on a video he had titled ‘Thoughts on the horrible scenes in Manchester’.
Barrie Taube, who works as a managing director for several property and finance companies, thanked Neville for his support of British Jews but insisted that the division is not being caused by ‘middle-aged white men’.
He said: ‘It’s caused by antisemitic comments by bands such as Kneecap and other influential figures who give this legitimacy so that young people think this is OK. It is about education, stopping hate marches and acts of kindness.
‘The Labour Government which you champion so much has a lot to answer for.’
Mr Taube added that he even had to wear a bulletproof vest while working on security at his synagogue in Hale, saying: ‘This is what life is like now for Jews in the UK.’
Another Jewish Briton, Oli Kristall, who works for a technology company in Leeds, said: ‘Gary – I love your views on football but – respectfully, the start of your video was great but then it turned into tackling a totally wrong issue.
‘What have your views on Union Jack flags or “English white men” got to do with targeted murders on Jews yesterday in Manchester? It is totally wrong to turn yesterday’s murders into a way of making a point about something else!’
Annette Gordon, who has worked as a TV producer for major broadcasters in Britain such as ITV and Channel 4, replied to Neville’s post to say he was following ‘an approved narrative that is basically pretty biased’.
The producer asked: ‘Is it really just “white middle-aged men”? You’ve kind of fallen into the trap that you say we are all in which is pointing the finger at one group and thereby polarising the argument. It is way more complex than that.’
Others who disagreed with Neville’s sentiments simply urged him to ‘Stick to Football’, in a reference to the title of the podcast he hosts.
Neville concluded his video by recalling his footballing memories at Old Trafford, where he shared a dressing room with British players as well as Africans, Asians, Americans and Europeans.
But in another twist, the former footballer then added: ‘Brexit has had a devastating impact on this country and the messaging is getting extremely dangerous.
‘All these idiots out there spreading hate speech and abuse in any form, we must stop promoting them.
‘We must stop elevating our voices towards them and it needs to stop now, and get back to a country of peace, love, harmony and become a team again.’
Gary Neville’s representatives have been approached for comment.
