Neville is Bitter about F.A.

Manchester United captain Gary Neville is a very experienced player, but one lesson he simply refuses to learn is that sometimes it is better to say nothing rather than exacerbate the situation.

Everyone knows that he has never, in his own eyes, committed a foul or been responsible for any form of infringement. So when referees give decisions against him, or any other United player, he sees it as his duty to question them and to argue the toss for as long as possible – whether to convert them to his way of thinking or simply to influence their judgement on another occasion it’s hard to say. But whatever his motives, he comes across as a totally humourless man who can’t make up his mind whether he wants to be a shop steward or an advocate.

And now, it seems, he’s started on the Football Association, whose disciplinary hearing found him guilty of improper conduct following his extraordinary cavorting in front of the Liverpool faithful after United’s late winner at Old Trafford.

The F.A., being on the whole a fairly affable bunch, decided to fine Neville £5,000 and warn him about his future conduct. In other words, a bit of pocket money and a token slap on the wrist. So what does he do? ‘Button it and do the time’? You must be joking. Our Gary is quoted as saying it was “a poor decision”, adding for good measure the sarcastic observation that “being a robot, devoid of passion and spirit is obviously the way forward”.

‘Course not, Gary. Having absolutely no sense of humour and not being bright enough to know when to keep your mouth shut. That’s the way forward.

No wonder some people call him the Chuckle Brother.