Gary Neville slams Arsenal statement on VAR controversy as ‘poor and dangerous’ and calls on Premier League to act
ARSENAL’S decision to publically back Mikel Arteta’s criticism of VAR has not gone down well with Gary Neville.
Following their controversial 1-0 loss to Newcastle last weekend, Gunners boss Arteta publically branded the refereeing as “a disgrace.”
The loss had its fair share of drama, including a contentious goal from Anthony Gordon which the Spaniard clearly did not believe should have counted.
Then there was the decision not to end off Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes.
Arteta said post-game: “I have praised my players for the performance and the way that we played – we didn’t deserve to lose the match.
“We lost the match because of the clear and obvious decisions. It’s embarrassing. It’s a disgrace. That’s what it is, a disgrace.”
Arsenal subsequently released a statement on their website in support of Arteta’s comments, due to what they described as “yet more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors on Saturday evening.”
The statement went on to read: “PGMOL urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies.”
Now, former Manchester United defender turned Sky Sports pundit Neville has slammed the Gunners’ statement.
He said: “I thought the statement was really poor.
The 48-year-old went on to explain: “I think the Arsenal statement is quite dangerous.
“I think all clubs have signed up to a new behavioural charter at the start of the season.
“I’m not saying that referees shouldn’t be put under pressure and Mikel Arteta or other managers shouldn’t feel aggrieved at the end of matches, what I am saying is that the clubs themselves should definitely behave better in these circumstances.”
Neville also went on to add that the PGMOL has “got to start to protect referees.
“At the very beginning, I was excited by the new transparency, the apologies to managers and the fact that the referees were communicating with the clubs.
“But in return what they’re getting is significantly and seriously undermined by their own clubs and I think the Premier League have to get this in order.”
As things stand, Arteta’s comments are set to go unpunished by the Prem and the PGMOL.
However, a warning could still head his way should it be decided that his comments were “prolonged” or “unreasonable.”
Arsenal’s statement has reportedly also left league and PGMOL bosses frustrated.