The Premier League is gearing up for another big season — but for Gary Neville, there’s still one ground he can’t set foot in.
Nottingham Forest and the Sky Sports pundit have yet to patch things up, meaning Neville remains unwelcome at the City Ground after a very public fallout with the club’s owner.
How It All Started: A Pitchside Clash and a Social Media Storm
The drama began back in May after Forest’s 2–2 draw with Leicester.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis stormed onto the pitch at full-time, appearing to confront head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Marinakis later insisted he was simply checking on striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who had collided with the post and played on before later needing abdominal surgery.
Neville wasn’t convinced. On X, he called the behaviour “scandalous” and even suggested Nuno should consider quitting on the spot.
That post didn’t go down well with Forest.
Shut Out on Matchday
When Forest played their final game of the season against Chelsea, Neville wasn’t on-site.
His request for media accreditation was denied, forcing him to cover the game from the Sky Sports studio instead.
The club insists it hasn’t issued an official ban, but says Neville won’t be welcomed back until “further assurances” are given — specifically that he’ll be more cautious when speaking about Marinakis.
A War of Words Between Club and Pundit
After Neville’s comments, Forest released a statement indirectly calling him out.
They urged “former coaches and players” to avoid “ill-informed outrage” and “fake news” for the sake of social media attention.
They also defended Marinakis’ actions as being motivated by player welfare.
Sky Sports quickly labelled the move “unprecedented and unwelcome,” with Neville himself echoing that frustration on Instagram.
He said he’d given plenty of both praise and criticism over 14 years without ever being refused entry to a stadium, calling Forest’s stance “disappointing” and a sign of deeper issues at the club.
This Isn’t the First Time Things Have Boiled Over
The bad blood dates back a year earlier when Forest threatened legal action over Neville’s comments about another controversial club statement.
After a 2024 defeat to Everton, Forest posted on social media accusing VAR Stuart Attwell — who they claimed was a Luton fan — of bias, while protesting three penalty calls they felt were wrongly denied.
Neville compared it to a “mafia-gang statement,” calling the club’s behaviour “embarrassing” and “petulant.”
That remark led Marinakis to confirm that lawyers had contacted Sky Sports.
A Partial Truce That Didn’t Last Long
Sky Sports apologised last July and confirmed Neville agreed not to use similar terms again.
That seemed to settle things at the time, with no further legal steps taken. But the FA later fined Forest £750,000 for their original post, and an appeal in March failed — the board noted the club had shown no “genuine apology” or “genuine remorse.”
Can Peace Be Restored Before Kick-Off?
For now, the stand-off remains. Forest maintains that Neville could return if he tones down his public criticism of Marinakis. Neville, meanwhile, appears unmoved, still pointing to what he sees as troubling decisions made by the club.
With the new Premier League campaign about to begin, one thing’s clear — if Gary Neville is covering a game at the City Ground anytime soon, it’ll be from a studio far away.