Salford City’s lunchtime kick-off was disrupted by pitch invaders waving England flags protesting Gary Neville in light of the former Manchester United defender’s comments on “angry, middle-aged white men” dividing the nation.
The invaders in question have been claimed to be members of Britain First, a far-right party in the UK, and men described as “local Salford patriots”.
They took to the pitch during Salford’s clash with Oldham in League Two wearing “Gary Neville is a traitor” hoodies and holding flags with the St George’s Cross, while a section of fans chanted “Gary Neville is a w*****”.
The individuals were tackled to the ground by stewards and hauled off the pitch before being swiftly removed from the stadium by police.
It comes after Neville, who played for England for more than 10 years, revealed that he removed a union flag from one of his development sites in Manchester as it was being “used in a negative fashion”.
The former footballer, who has developed properties since the age of 21, released a video on 3 October following the Yom Kippur terrorist attack at a Manchester synagogue, outlining his thoughts on recent events and questioning the patriotism behind putting up union flags.
The football pundit explained how he feels the nation is “being turned on each other” by “angry, middle-aged white men who know what they’re doing”.
Neville described heading down Bury New Road and witnessing the Jewish community coming together in the aftermath of the attack and being “out in the streets defiant”.
The ex-footballer turned property developer then compared it to a journey down Littleton Road in Salford, where he saw “probably 50-60” union jack flags, causing him to question why they are now being put up in such numbers.
“Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a union jack flag put up and I took it down instantly,” said Neville.
“Some people might be watching this and thinking: ‘Gary you’re not really patriotic.’ I’ve played for my country 85 times, I love my country, I love Manchester and I love England.
“I’ve been building in this city for 15-20 years, and there’s no one put a union jack flag up in 15-20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?”
Neville added: “The union jack flag used in a negative fashion is not right and I’m a proud supporter of England, of Great Britain, of our country and will champion it anywhere in the world as one of the greatest places to live.
“But I think we need to check ourselves, check ourselves and start to think about bringing ourselves back to a neutral point because we’re being pulled right and left and we don’t need to be pulled right and left at all.”
Neville also received backlash from football crowds during England’s recent international in Latvia, where fans chose to sing the same X-rated chants seen at Salford.
Salford declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.
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