‘Disgraceful’ Martinelli ‘more than disrespectful’ for Bradley push in Arsenal 0 Liverpool 0 | OneFootball

Roy Keane has branded Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli – who is “a good boy to roll around himself” – as “absolutely disgraceful” after he tried to force an injured Conor Bradley off the pitch.

Arsenal and Liverpool played out a dull 0-0 draw in the Emirates rain, with the main talking point after the game being Martinelli’s reaction to Bradley going down with what immediately appeared to be a serious injury.

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Bradley did shuffle further onto the pitch than he initially was, but he was never completely off the pitch while down, and Martinelli took exception to that.

After throwing the ball at the Liverpool defender, the Brazilian winger tried to push him off the pitch to receive treatment so Arsenal could continue playing.

Liverpool players were rightly furious with Martinelli, who was called an “idiot” during Sky Sports commentary by Gary Neville.

Neville added that he was surprised no Liverpool player confronted the Arsenal player and “took the red card.”

Keane blasts ‘disgraceful’ Martinelli for Bradley push

Reacting to the push after the match, former Manchester United captain Keane was scathing in his assessment of the incident.

Keane told Sky Sports: “No, I didn’t like it. Didn’t like it at all. It happened to me once before, when I was badly injured, and the player stood over me.

“We know football, we know players’ reactions, and we know he is a good lad. First of all, throwing the ball at him, standing over him, and he’s got a little knee in him here – if you watch it closely – he’s trying to force him off.

“I’m surprised the Liverpool players didn’t go after Martinelli a bit more. That behavior is absolutely disgraceful, because he’s a good boy to roll around himself. So not good scenes. Hopefully Martinelli will have a look at it and apologise.

“You could tell he’s obviously injured. If you’re standing over him, you don’t know the severity of the injury the player has. It looks pretty bad. And you’re trying to push him off the pitch? Not good stuff.”

Sturridge on Martinelli push: ‘It’s worse than disrespectful’

Keane’s co-pundit Daniel Sturridge added that what Martinelli did was “probably even worse than disrespectful.”

“It’s disappointing to see,” Sturridge said.

“There’s passion, there’s being a winner, there’s wanting to help your teammates, but you’ve got to be respectful as a football player.

“In moments in the game, especially with injuries – I’ve had injuries myself – it’s never a nice feeling. I can see maybe he’s thinking, ‘Oh, time wasting,’ but, brother, you’ve got to be self-aware enough to know, ‘Okay, cool, the guy’s down.’

“You’ve been there before, and it’s just disrespectful, probably even worse than disrespectful, to be honest with you. It’s just disappointing to see.”