Gary Neville has reignited his feud with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, branding the club’s handling of Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal as ‘classless’.
The Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit criticised the decision to sack Postecoglou within minutes of Forest’s 3-0 defeat by Chelsea last weekend, arguing that the club showed a lack of respect in the way they dismissed the Australian.
Forest confirmed the manager’s departure less than half an hour after the final whistle at the City Ground, bringing an end to his brief tenure after eight winless matches in charge.
Sean Dyche was appointed as his successor on Tuesday and guided Forest to victory over Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Neville, who remains barred from the City Ground following his row with Marinakis last season, said on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast that owners should show greater integrity when sacking managers.
‘To do it 15, 20 minutes after a game, Jill [Scott] put it beautifully,’ he said. ‘You try and do it as classy as possible, a bit of time away from the game, so the manager can speak to his staff and players.’
Man United legend Gary Neville has reignited his feud with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis
Forest confirmed Ange Postecoglou’s departure less than half an hour after the final whistle at the City Ground
He added: ‘I’ve sacked four managers face-to-face in my time at Salford. Honestly, as a football club owner, it’s one of the worst things you can do. You always think about the right time – but you’re always thinking about how you deliver that news and where you deliver it from the point of view of the manager.’
Neville’s latest intervention comes five months after he was denied accreditation to cover Forest’s final home match of the season.
The pundit was banned after describing a Forest statement as being like one written by a ‘mafia gang’ during a broadcast on Sky Sports.
Sky apologised after Marinakis’s lawyers claimed the remarks were ‘inappropriate’ and ‘harmful’. Neville agreed not to repeat the term, but said on Instagram that his exclusion from the stadium was ‘unprecedented’ and ‘disappointing’.
Forest’s original statement followed a 2-0 defeat at Everton, when the club accused match officials of bias and claimed the VAR official was a Luton fan.
The Football Association later fined Forest £750,000, noting the club’s lack of ‘genuine apology’ or ‘genuine remorse’.
Marinakis’s reputation for swift managerial changes is long-standing. When Martin O’Neill was sacked in 2019, Sabri Lamouchi was appointed just 18 minutes later.
Nuno Espirito Santo, Steve Cooper and now Postecoglou have all departed in a similarly abrupt fashion.
Neville’s latest intervention comes five months after he was denied accreditation to cover Forest’s final home match of the season. Pictured: Forest owner Marinakis
Neville’s Stick to Football co-host Roy Keane, who served as O’Neill’s assistant during that spell, observed that his colleague should not have been surprised.
‘You’re the mad one, not the owner,’ Keane said. ‘Why did you think this Forest owner was going to do it differently? Leopards and spots.’
Keane went on to blame Forest’s players for Postecoglou’s downfall, insisting their performances had left the manager with no chance. ‘Did they really want to keep him in the job?’ he said. ‘Good players not even hitting the target – idiots, honestly.’
