A Manchester United legend Gary Neville mocked Manchester City in response to a fan’s claim that Sir Alex Ferguson “had the referees in his back pocket.” He noted that unlike City, Manchester United has never been subject to 115 financial charges.
Neville voiced his disapproval on X, formerly Twitter, regarding Arsenal’s statement endorsing Mikel Arteta, who was heavily criticized by match officials for a contentious decision in the club’s recent loss to Newcastle United.
He maintained the view that clubs ought to exercise restraint when challenging referees, further stating that he was a member of the Manchester United squad under the leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson, who inspired players to improve their performance in light of unfavorable decisions.
His post was:
“When I was a member of a club, a manager who appeared irate when we felt a decision had been rendered against us would go insane after every game.” You feel as though the world is against you. I understand. We are despised by all, the officials are biased against us, and they are out to stitch us up. “However, I do not recall the club ever publishing letters that undermined the refereeing community and the system as a whole.”In retrospect, I do not believe that as players we constantly adorned ourselves with referees and, furthermore, at major clubs we all feel entitled; to realize this, one must retire or leave the club.
“Both Arsenal’s letter and the statement Liverpool issued a few weeks ago (during their truly awful match against them) are incorrect. Perform in private. If I were Howard Webb, I would immediately cease apologizing to them and move on. Managers and athletes commit considerably more errors than referees.
A supporter of Manchester City deemed it opportune to assert that Sir Alex possessed absolute authority over the referees at that moment. Neville was dissatisfied with the remark and criticized the Cityzens for the 115 charges levied against them by the Premier League for alleged financial rule violations.
“Don’t you lot start we never had 115 charges against us,” he commented.