Gary Neville Backlash: 576 Ofcom Complaints Over Comments on Martinelli, Bradley Incident
Gary Neville has sparked a huge storm of controversy with a heated on-air reaction to Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli‘s unseemly push on injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley during their Premier League tie.
The incident happened in the dying moments of the goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium on New Year’s Day (1st Jan 2026), when Bradley suffered a nasty looking knee injury and had to be stretchered off.
The Flashpoint – Martinelli’s Moments During Bradley’s Injury
Right at the end of the game, Bradley went down in clear distress near the sideline after landing awkwardly, in obvious pain. And in a moment that really stood out, Martinelli chucked the ball at the Liverpool right back and tried to shove him off the pitch. It looked like he thought Bradley was just trying it on, trying to get in the way of the ball.
This sparked a heated row between the two sets of players, with the Liverpool lads swarming around Martinelli as Bradley was carried off the pitch.
Martinelli ended up with a yellow card but the whole thing drew a lot of criticism from pundits, including Sky Sport’s Gary Neville and Roy Keane.
Neville’s Scathing Commentary Sparks a Debate
On the Sky Sports commentary Neville had no problem giving Martinelli a piece of his mind, calling him an “idiot” and basically having a go at his behaviour. He said
“You can’t just push him off the pitch. That’s just stupid. You idiot, that was so unprofessional. I’m surprised the Liverpool players didn’t jump all over him. I reckon Martinelli should be saying sorry.”
Neville continued :
“Martinelli is taken off Conor Bradley, and that is a terrible sight to see… I’m bloody fuming with Martinelli, honestly, I don’t know how the Liverpool players stuck to their tempers. He really should have been sent off, that was a complete and utter disgrace.”
He went a bit far, probably, with his language – particularly when he suggested the Liverpool players should go “whack” him. That really didn’t go down well.
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TV Complaints Flood in – Neville’s Comments Make Headlines
The comments really got under peoples’ skin, and heaps of viewers complained to the TV watchdogs over on Ofcom.
According to reports in the Daily Mail and elsewhere, a staggering 576 viewers filed a complaint about Neville’s comments – and that makes him the most complained about TV commentator of the year, so far (as of the 14th Jan 2026).
Loads of the complaints came from Arsenal fans, accusing Neville of being biased and inciting violence.
Martinelli Quickly Issues a Public Apology to Bradley
Martinelli moved swiftly to try and calm the situation down, and in a story on Instagram, he said he’d messaged Bradley and already apologised. He said he hadn’t realised the injury was as bad as it was at the time, and that he was properly sorry for his reaction. In the same post he wished Bradley a speedy recovery.
In an Instagram story, he wrote:
“Conor and I have messaged and I’ve already apologized to him. I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment. I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery.”
Bradleys Devastating Injury Update: Season Cut Short After Surgery
The injury ended up being a lot worse than it initially seemed.
Liverpool have confirmed that Bradley has some serious damage to bone and ligaments in his left knee – not an ACL tear as folks thought. He was in the theatre and came out the other side with surgery done and dusted.
Bradley had a pretty emotional response on social media, to be honest:
“Big blow this one, but the surgery is all done so now it’s just a case of counting down the days until i’m back out there on the pitch. Might be a little while but i’m already itching to get back playing for @liverpoolfc and @northernireland. Cheers to everyone who has sent me support”
Unfortunately the 22 year old will miss the rest of the 2025/26 Premier League season and now there are serious doubts over whether he’ll be fit to travel to the world cup with Northern Ireland this summer, should they qualify.
This latest controversy really highlights just how delicate football politics can be at its best. Neville saying what he thinks as always causes a stir among the fans and pundits – some love it, some hate it.
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Gary Neville Backlash: 576 Ofcom Complaints Over Comments on Martinelli, Bradley Incident