Simon Jordan has backed Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis for banning pundit Gary Neville from the City Ground after he spouted “utter drivel”.
The Reds denied former defender Neville accreditation for their final-day clash with Chelsea on the banks of the Trent last Sunday. It led to Sky Sports choosing to broadcast coverage of the match, which Nuno Espirito Santo’s side lost 1-0, from their London studio.
Forest’s decision regarding Neville came after he had criticised Marinakis’ behaviour following the team’s previous home game, when they drew 2-2 with Leicester City. Former Crystal Palace chief Jordan has said it was right Neville was held accountable.
Asked whether club owners or broadcasters should rule the roost, Jordan told talkSPORT listeners: “The owner. It’s his football club. You don’t have a God-given right to be in the stadium. You can turn round and say to somebody that you don’t particularly want that commentator in there.
“Do I think it’s the right thing to do? I think it empowers Gary more. I think it makes his observations sound as if they’re more important than they actually are.
“What he said was utter drivel and he was wrong to say it. I don’t know whether he’s apologised for saying it, and perhaps he should.”
Marinakis had confronted Reds head coach Nuno on the City Ground pitch after the final whistle had blown in the match against the Foxes. Neville immediately posted on X: "Scandalous from that Forest owner. Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that."
Both Marinakis and Nuno later explained their conversation had been about Taiwo Awoniyi, who had collided with a post late on in the game. Marinakis said there was “frustration” over the “medical staff’s misjudgement” regarding the striker’s ability to continue.
Jordan said he felt Marinakis and Forest tried to “create a narrative” about what had happened. But he also took issue with Neville’s “call to action”.
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“Gary Neville’s job is to opine on things with an objective and fair and insightful mind. A lot of the time he does that. Sometimes he doesn’t,” Jordan said.
“In this instance, he made an insulting call to action. Whether you like it or you don’t like it, you are, especially as a pundit where the only tool that you have are your words, you have to be accountable for them.”
When it was put to him that Marinakis should have phoned Neville, Jordan responded: “Why in God’s name would Marinakis pick up the phone to someone like Gary Neville?
“He did the next best thing. He said: ‘I don’t need to pick up the phone to you, you don’t get access to my football stadium, maybe you pick up the phone to me and apologise to me for your ridiculous outburst.’
“That wasn’t criticism, that was a call to action - everybody at Nottingham Forest should leave this football club and should be negotiating their way out. Do you not think that’s a bit of a reach?
“What I would do if I were in his shoes, I would never have another relationship with that broadcasting party, in terms of that particular individual. I would go: ‘Right, he stepped across the line.’
“Marinakis isn’t immune to criticism, but that’s not fair criticism. It’s not impartial criticism. It’s Neville teeing off, being able to say what he wants. You can’t just say what you want without consequence.
“Why should people have to put up with it? If you know it’s not true, if you know he’s got a microphone and he can say what he bloody well wants and get away with it, why should you have to put up with it? Because you’re the bigger man?
“You want emotion from people. This sport is built upon emotion. What would make this man (Marinakis) tip hundreds of millions of pounds of money into his football club? Emotion. So then don’t criticise him for having emotion when someone steps above the line and goes above the parapet and does what Neville has done.
“Neville should have got a smack from the broadcaster and told: ‘Pack it in, Gary, that’s a bit too extreme.’”
