Gary Neville reveals why he WON’T be at Nottingham Forest’s clash with Man City this weekend amid Sky row, as he accuses Mark Clattenburg of acting ‘like a Navy Seal’ and giving the team an excuse NOT to win

Gary Neville has revealed he will not cover Sunday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, amid the club’s row with Sky over his ‘mafia’ jibe last weekend.

Forest courted controversy after their 2-0 defeat to Everton last Sunday when they appeared to question the integrity of VAR Stuart Attwell – who is supporting relegation rivals Luton Town – on social media after dismissing three criminal cases involving Attwell apparently did not advise referee Anthony Taylor to go to the field monitor to check them.

Forest promised to ‘consider their options’ in their social media post, leading Neville to brand it ‘a statement from a mafia gang’. Forest are now considering legal action against Sky following Neville’s insult, but the broadcaster will show their next match against City this weekend.

Neville has now confirmed he will not be at the City Ground as he will be covering another match for Sky.

He revealed on the Stick to Football podcast that he received a tweet from a Forest fan this week which read: ‘I’m just asking if you’re at the Nottingham Forest and Man City game. I’m asking for 27,000 friends.

Forest published a furious tweet after the match claiming they had been denied three clear penalties

Forest insinuated that VAR Stuart Attwell was biased against them because he is a Luton fan

Gary Neville claimed it was a ‘mafia gang statement’ and has now revealed he will not be attending Forest’s match against Man City this weekend

‘I called Sky and said I need the North London derby on Sunday! No, I’m at the North London derby by the way.’

Neville was also heavily critical of Nottingham Forest’s referee analyst Mark Clattenburg on Sunday – a position he took up in February – and called for him to resign following the club’s statement on social media.

The former Manchester United defender doubled down on his stance on Clattenburg, insisting that he is effectively becoming a hindrance to the club and giving them an excuse to fall short in games.

“You have Clattenburg almost like a Navy Seal in the director’s box creeping up to the CEO (whispering),” Marcel continued.

“The reason I asked him to resign was because if he actually saw the tweet from Luton that went out, he would essentially have to distance himself from it or be part of it. If he’s part of that, I’m like, “Wow.”

The second part of it is football, right? If you’re the leader of that football club, since Mark Clattenburg came in, they’ve won one game in the last ten games. In the ten previous games they won four.

‘You never give footballers or employees an excuse to leave. He gave them an excuse not to win. That may sound crazy, but when you put that negativity into it, Neco Williams is probably a very good player. He comes out on Sunday and he’s talking about referees.

Neville called for the dismissal of Forest referee Mark Clattenburg on Sunday after Forest’s controversial statement

Neville believes Clattenburg has given them an excuse not to win as the focus has shifted to refereeing decisions

“They are all consumed with referees, and they have given themselves an excuse: everyone is against us. It’s not working for them, this strategy the way it’s going.

‘What they need to do is completely change their mentality and forget about the referees. Get Clattenburg out of the director’s box so the camera isn’t on him anymore and concentrate on the football because if they’re not careful, they’re going to go down.”

Roy Keane, who played for Forest between 1990 and 1993, also disapproved of his former club’s actions. He was referring to owner Evangelos Marinakis who came on full-time when a refereeing decision went against his side in their match against Liverpool last month.

He stressed that Forest’s approach to refereeing will not improve their chances of staying in the top flight.

‘It’s very messy. “Forest, looking back on the last few months, I don’t think they’ve shown any class, that’s how I would look at it,” he said.

“The way they’re carrying on, they were on the pitch against Liverpool, you look at the ownership there. I was lucky enough to play for Forest, a brilliant club when I was there. I don’t like the kind of behavior right now, what they’re doing.

“They obviously have the right to come out and defend themselves and fight in their own corner. But as I look at it over the last few years, I don’t like what I see with the behavior that’s going on at the ownership level.

Roy Keane has also admitted he is disappointed with the behavior of his former club

He criticized the behavior of owner Evangelos Marinakis (photo) in recent months

He then turned to Neville and added: ‘Remember when a referee came to United years ago? He told us about his way of working.

“And he said, if you keep attacking me during a match and I have to make a decision, and he looked at me, if you give me a stick and I have to make a decision against you, then I will go against you. That’s human nature when you stay on my back.

‘Forest has this idea, suddenly the referees will say, “You know what? Let’s have a little sympathy for Forest”. I think this just goes against them. The way they keep making these statements and bullying on the field.

‘You fight for your corner, but not when the technical staff and owners enter the field. In terms of Forest’s attitude, the world is against us, now a bit stable.’

Gary Neville and Roy Keane spoke on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky bet.