Gary Neville has told Sky Sports he does not want to cover Manchester City matches until a verdict is returned in their appeal against the Premier League financial rules breach findings.
City's first Premier League game since being found guilty of 114 charges by an independent panel was a trip to Anfield. The pre-match discussion focused on their ongoing legal battle with the Premier League after they were found to have breached regulations over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. City maintain their innocence and have appealed.
Neville's request and the Anfield clash
Liverpool dominated the opening hour before Ryan Gravenberch was sent off for a second yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh. City then exploited their numerical advantage, with goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki securing a 3-0 win for Enzo Maresca's side.
Neville was impressed by the performance of City's £116million midfielder Elliot Anderson, naming him man of the match. However, he admitted finding it difficult to praise them while the legal process continues.
"This is the first Manchester City game that I have done today since the charges or guilty verdicts were handed out a few weeks ago," he said on Sky Sports. "We were just doing the podcast then and said if you could take me off Manchester City games moving forward for the next few months until the verdicts have been heard, I would be absolutely delighted."
Players and staff blameless, says Neville
He added: "To come and win at Anfield is really difficult, we should be eulogising over them without a but or any hesitation, but there is that thing in the back of your mind. They have done a brilliant job here today. They have dominated the game in the last 20 minutes, from the red card onwards. They have dug in and I think players like [Gianluigi] Donnarumma, [Ruben] Dias and Anderson, in that first-half were excellent. They stood strong as a group."
Neville continued: "At the end of the game it is quite hard because you are imagining basically if these guilty verdicts are confirmed in January or February then Manchester City are not going to be in the position they are in and there is going to be a huge cloud hanging over the whole league, which is not good for the Premier League right now and that is what I have just recognised today. Really bad for the Premier League and it is going to continue for a few months."
Appeal and sanctions process ongoing
The appeals procedure has already begun, though a definitive result may take considerable time. The sanctions hearing is also ongoing, with a potential penalty possibly being revealed first.
Both Neville and Jamie Carragher made clear that players do not deserve hostile treatment. Neville said: "That's the problem for the Man City staff, players and supporters, they are blameless in all of this. The stain, stigma, reputational damage that hits them, it's nothing to do with them but they have to face it on the pitch, in the stadium, week after week."
Carragher added: "The players on that pitch they've had to face the criticism. All eyes on this game, you almost look at the director's box thinking they should be on the pitch facing the barrage of criticism."
