Gary Neville has shed light on his hasty departure from Anfield on the day Liverpool secured a 20th Premier League title. The renowned pundit confessed he was “absolutely abused” during his exit from the stadium last Sunday.
As Liverpool triumphed with a 5-1 victory over Spurs to go 15 points clear at the top, thus confirming their title with four games to spare, Neville was commentating for Sky Sports but left abruptly at the final whistle, inadvertently setting off the vibrant celebrations amongst the home crowd.
This marked the first genuine opportunity for fans to revel in a championship victory at Anfield in 35 years because of previous COVID-19 restrictions in 2020.
In an ironic twist, as Liverpool equalled the trophy tally of Neville’s much-loved Manchester United, the ex-England defender exited quickly following the end of the match.
During an episode of the It’s Called Soccer podcast, the United legend elaborated on his early exit, citing safety concerns due to the atmosphere.
He said: “So basically at the end of the game, I normally do a podcast but I made the decision, part-way through the game, [as] it was getting a bit fruity up there where I was, in the gantry.
“And, to be fair, the security guard was literally there with me. So I got my backpack and literally, as the final whistle went, Peter (Drury, Sky Sports commentator), he usually does this thing where he throws it to me, I just said I wouldn’t have to speak.
“So I put my backpack on, we ran, we went for it and we got right out onto the concourse and beat everyone. However, what I didn’t then imagine was the carnage and the people outside. I got absolutely abused and, yeah, I snapped at a few people.
“I mean, look, a lot of them were in good spirits as you would imagine but they just abused me. And then, to be fair, a guy on the M60 on the way home, honestly, I’ve never been aggressive in my life, but if I could have pulled over…yeah, it wasn’t a great last half-hour for me after the game.”
Neville added: “It was a bit old-school, but I have to say, it was Anfield and it was their day and I always remember, Sir Alex [Ferguson], we lost the league to Arsenal, Chelsea, he was always very gracious and we had to be as well. [We] didn’t enjoy it but you have to be gracious and respect the fact that it was a great achievement to win the league.
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“You can’t talk about how difficult it is to win the league and how you should measure your success by that and then on the point when your biggest rivals – the team you dislike the most – win it, go missing.
“So yeah, I knew I was always going to have to be there on Sunday. It’s over and it’s done with now.
“But what a great season for them. Arne Slot has been sensational, he’s been the hero, really. I know Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah get a lot of the headlines but the manager has been outstanding.”
