Sacked pundit Matt Le Tissier has claimed Sky Sports will stand by Gary Neville after over his outburst against ‘angry middle-aged white men’, citing their previous support of Jamie Carragher.
Neville has faced a backlash for comments the former England and Manchester United defender made about Britons fastening St George’s and Union Jack flags to lampposts.
Neville shared a video on LinkedIn on Friday, 24 hours after two Jewish worshippers were killed in the Yom Kippur terror attack at a Manchester synagogue.
Neville said: ‘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.’
The £1.1million-a-year pundit has faced a backlash, with some fans claiming they will cancel their Sky Sports subscriptions over his comments.
Former Sky Sports pundit Le Tissier took aim at Neville, claiming he has ‘attacked the demographic who pay his wages.
Le Tissier, speaking to students at Southampton Solent university, suggested Neville will supported by the broadcaster, despite his comments.
‘He’s basically attacked the demographic of people that are paying his wages, which is a bit strange,’ Le Tissier said.
‘I think it depends on what side of the argument you fall on and whether your side of the argument suits the agenda of the current media.
‘Which I think, you know, for the large part is very left leaning, so if you’re slightly right leaning you won’t be given the good graces to make mistakes other people will be given.’
In a separate post on social media, Le Tissier wrote: ‘Watch the media go after Gary Neville after his video………. Oh no, he’s in the WEF club so they’ll leave him alone.’
Le Tissier was dismissed from the broadcaster in August 2020 alongside fellow Soccer Saturday panellists Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson.
He later blamed the decision on his refusal to wear a Black Lives Matter badge and his opinions on the Covid pandemic.
The former Southampton striker was also accused of putting lives at risk after sharing anti-vaccine conspiracy theories in 2021 and was later met with a fierce backlash on social media after spreading contentious views on the war in Ukraine.
Le Tissier has frequently hit out at the broadcaster over his dismissal, citing the difference between his exit and their support of former Liverpool star turned pundit Carragher.
Carragher future as a pundit was hanging by a thread back in 2018 when he was filmed spitting towards a car with a 14-year-old girl in the passenger seat – after the driver had mocked him following a Liverpool defeat.
Carragher, then 40, was clinging onto his role and suspended, but following a full and frank apology on Sky News in the immediate aftermath as well as sessions with renowned psychiatrist Steve Peters, the defender was reinstated to his role.
Le Tissier, who previously claimed he had a heated phonecall with Carragher over the incident, suggested Sky Sports will also stand by Neville.
‘Yeah, I think they’ll stand by him and support him, yeah,’ Le Tissier said.
‘I mean, they stood by Jamie Carragher when he spat at a young girl out of the back of his car.
‘It is not quite as bad as that, so I think Gary’s got a pretty fair argument there if they try and get rid of him.’
Neville has often shared his opinions on political issues, such as voicing that people should ‘detest’ the working conditions for migrant workers in Qatar and condemning Boris Johnson for ‘fuelling’ racism during his time as Prime Minister.
The former Man United and England star, 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.
His latest 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 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. Currien is an ally of Tommy Robinson – 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.
‘Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a Union Jack flag put up and I took it down instantly.’
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’.
