Evangelos Marinakis breaks silence on Gary Neville Nottingham Forest slur

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has spoken out on Gary Neville’s ‘mafia gang’ slur.

Sky Sports pundit Neville made the comment in the wake of Forest’s statement following their Premier League defeat to Everton last month. In a post on the club’s official X account, the Reds criticised refereeing decisions in the match at Goodison Park and also questioned the appointment of Stuart Attwell as VAR because they claimed he is a fan of Luton, who were in a direct battle with Forest to avoid relegation.

"Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept,” it read. "We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn't change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options."

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Neville likened Forest’s actions to a ‘mafia gang’, with Marinakis now confirming to the Daily Mail that Forest lawyers have contacted Sky over his comments.

“We made this announcement because we tried to protect and then there is a big fuss - but that was made from Sky Sports and specific guys,” said Marinakis.

“Neville is subject to FA rules too, surely – he is a director of Salford FC. His comment about the club was outrageous, but the FA have done nothing,” he added. “I need to be careful - because our lawyers have already been in contact with Sky regarding Neville and this is not over yet. The comments and words he used were inappropriate, didn't correspond with reality and harmed people.”