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Gary Neville has revealed the bizarre reason why he accidentally snubbed Harry Styles last month.
The Manchester United legend worked as a pundit for Sky Sports as the Red Devils beat Luton Town 2-1 at Kenilworth Road. Before the match, Neville was relaxing in the studio with the rest of the expert team, including Jamie Redknapp.
As he did so, pop superstar Styles – a United fan – walked in alongside the Luton directors, but his unfamiliar choice of clothing appeared to make him unrecognizable to Neville, who admitted he did not know who the 30-year-old was.
Instead, Neville was in conversation with Luton CEO Gary Sweet, who has helped oversee the Hatters’ remarkable rise from non-league to the Premier League.
And in conversation with Geoff Shreeves on his brand new podcast Football, music and meNeville – co-owner of League Two side Salford City – insisted he was too wrapped up in his discussions with Sweet about EFL finances to notice the One Direction icon.
Gary Neville has revealed the bizarre reason why he accidentally snubbed Harry Styles last month
Pop superstar Styles entered the Sky Sports studio ahead of Man United’s clash with Luton at Kenilworth Road last month, but Neville appeared to snub the singer
Styles was at Kenilworth Road for the match as United won 2–1
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“Harry was in the back and Gary Sweet was there,” he said. “But we interviewed him (Sweet) before the first or second Friday night football of the season and got along really well.
“I felt I had a lot of synergies with him because Luton got promoted from League Two, we are in League Two with Salford. I was very interested in his story and how they did it.
‘So I was talking to him and I saw a man passing by and I shook Harry’s hand, but I was concentrating on the conversation with Gary. But he walked by and then I saw Jamie Redknapp stand up and say, ‘Hey, you okay.’
Marcel claimed it was an innocent mistake, but admitted his daughters wouldn’t be happy with him.
He added: ‘I thought ‘oh no’. My daughters absolutely love him. They started watching him at Lancashire Cricket Club about a year ago now, he fills everywhere.
‘But it was like, ‘Yeah, okay, let me keep talking to Gary Sweet about League Two finances.’
In the aftermath of the Kenilworth Road clash, Marcel Styles had issued a heartfelt apology after initially believing he was the son of a Luton Town director.
Neville admitted he was too involved in a conversation with Luton CEO Gary Sweet
Neville (above right) is co-owner of Salford City and the pair discussed the EFL’s finances
He told the story to Geoff Shreeves on his former colleague’s brand new podcast
“I have to go into the studio and try to relive the fact that I didn’t recognize Harry Styles before the match,” he told the BBC. Gary Neville podcast.
‘He dressed so neatly. He walked into the owners of Luton Town and I thought he was actually one of the directors’ sons.’
Neville added on whether he thought the pop star recognized him: “No. He’s a United fan so maybe he did it, oh god I’m totally ashamed and shocked.
‘My two girls would be shocked and mortified by me. I’m really sorry Harry, I really am.’