Gary Neville banned from Forest’s final game of the season against Chelsea | OneFootball

Gary Neville will not be part of Sky Sports’ coverage for Nottingham Forest’s final Premier League match of the season after being banned from attending the game.

According to The Telegraph, the Tricky Trees refused to grant him media accreditation, so Sky Sports decided to broadcast Sunday’s high-stakes fixture against Chelsea remotely from their studios in west London.

The situation is part of a growing dispute between Neville and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.

The former Manchester United defender has been flagged by Forest after publicly criticising Marinakis for stepping onto the pitch following the 2-2 draw against Leicester City.

The result put the club’s Champions League hopes in jeopardy as they host Chelsea knowing anything other than maximum points would relegate them to the lower European competitions.

Neville called the incident “scandalous” on social media and suggested that Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo should reconsider his position at the club.

Neville’s comments came as Taiwo Awoniyi, who was injured during the match, was later hospitalised and placed in an induced coma after suffering a severe abdominal injury.

Forest later issued a strongly worded statement slamming Neville for his “baseless and ill-informed outrage”, claiming he did that just to get online attention.

This isn’t the first time Neville and Forest have been involved in a squabble. Last season, the Sky Sports pundit likened Forest to a “Mafia gang” after they lost to Everton.

This time, though, things have gone overboard. Marinakis has submitted a witness statement in a £2.1 million libel case actioned by the billionaire shipping magnate.

He accused Neville of turning hostile due to an alleged smear campaign meant to influence his commentary.

Forest’s refusal to allow Neville into City Ground hasn’t gone down well at Sky Sports, who have described their action as “unprecedented and unwelcome”.

Neville has agreed to step aside, so he will not feature in any part of the broadcast, but Sky has confirmed that they’d still have a commentary team at City Ground.

Forest attempted to play down the situation by claiming that Neville’s presence could spark outrage among the home supporters, who believe he’s biased against the club.