BREAKING NEWS: The European Union Football Association (UEFA) announced this morning that Liverpool FC will be relegated and that they will be penalized with a 500 thousand euro fine and a 12 point deduction after their current meltdown towards premier league officials
Speaking on Monday Night Football tonight, Gary Neville assigned part of the responsibility for Arsenal’s dispute versus Liverpool over the weekend.
Neville appears to have turned become the number one public enemy of Arsenal supporters after appearing to support the officials over the weekend following their defeat against Newcastle.
Arsenal’s subsequent statement endorsing Mikel Arteta has also garnered fire.
Neville, though, believes that Liverpool has a hand in the current outburst directed at officials and feels that the Premier League needs to take action right away.
Gary Neville holds Liverpool accountable for Arsenal’s PGMOL statement release.
Neville recently got into a long tirade about the Arsenal statement when speaking on MNF.
“I felt that the statement was quite inadequate. As we were here a few weeks ago, Liverpool had a horrific one go against them, and we understood at the time that it was incorrect and that they had a lot to feel unfairly done by. That’s what I believed the other week, Neville added.
However, I believed that was to be fair and extremely risky when Liverpool released their statement the following day, referencing sporting integrity, stating they were considering all alternatives, and suggesting a replay. The Arsenal remark, in my opinion, is quite risky. I’m not suggesting that referees shouldn’t be under pressure, but the teams themselves should act better in these situations. All clubs signed up to a behavioural code at the beginning of the season.
“At this point, I’m focusing on the Premier League because they really need to attempt to safeguard referees. I was first thrilled about the increased openness and the apology letters sent to managers and referees. However, what they are receiving in return is being severely and severely damaged by their own teams, so the Premier League needs to address this.
And by the way, the other clubs need to straighten things out since, in my opinion, these letters are unprecedented.
Clubs must act responsibly now.
Although everyone has occasional annoyance and frustration with referees, Neville accurately points out how concerning the current situation is.
Fans of Liverpool and Arsenal will not approve of it. However, the truth is that referees shouldn’t be subjected to this kind of scrutiny, and occasionally it verges on abuse.
Clubs are entitled to question certain things, yes. But in football, choices are and always have been incorrect. Even with VAR and tech assistance, referees are unable to make every single call correctly.
Neville is correct in what he says above, and Liverpool will be wondering what they need to do about it. However, after establishing a precedent the other week, the truth is that they have.