Gary Neville has laughed off criticism from former England striker Rickie Lambert, who accused him of trying to influence the role of an independent regulator in football.
Neville, who is a major shareholder at League Two side Salford City, has long been a champion of an independent regulator as he believes it is the best way of protecting the football pyramid.
Weekend reports suggested UEFA had written to the new Labour government to express its concern at the threat of political interference in English football – with potential punishments including the loss of hosting rights for Euro 2028 – but Neville claimed it was “scaremongering” as part of a campaign of “misinformation” to push the idea of an independent regulator to the back burner.
The former Manchester United full-back wrote on X: “I don’t post much anymore but feel the need to on this subject. Please don’t be fooled by the scaremongering regarding the independent regulator and England losing tournaments.
“They will do anything to stop it coming in and are happy to create misinformation and apply soft power in the right places in the meantime.
“The Regulator will have no impact at all on the quality of the Premier League yet will importantly protect the wider game and pyramid. England will also not lose hosting tournaments, but even if they did it’s more important that we protect the entirety of English club football than getting a tournament every 50 years.”
You ok Rickie? 😂😂 https://t.co/Mr8P04dUgZ
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) September 16, 2024
Lambert, who played for Liverpool and Southampton as well as the Three Lions in a long career, replied by suggesting Neville was part of something much bigger.
He wrote on X: “It’s becoming clear exactly who and what you are @GNev2. Instead of using the footballing community to come together and stop what is being implemented onto us, you are using your position to try and persuade them to accept the corrupt, cowardly shadow government’s plan to destroy our way of life and society.”
Neville was clearly bemused by Lambert’s take and replied by asking: “You ok Rickie,” accompanied by two laughing emojis.
