Gary Neville was ‘unprofessional’ for Man Utd vs Liverpool before Dominik Szoboszlai rant

Gary Neville has previously confessed to moments of “unprofessional” commentary, notably during a Manchester United vs Liverpool match – a sentiment echoed two years later in his scathing critique of Dominik Szoboszlai. The incident in question dates back to 2022 when Neville discussed Hannibal Mejbri’s display for United against their fierce rivals.

Fast forward to September 1 this year, and the ex-Manchester United skipper was once again in the spotlight for his remarks during Sky Sports’ coverage of the game alongside Jamie Carragher and Peter Drury, as Arne Slot’s team ran riot in a 3-0 triumph at Old Trafford.

With Liverpool already leading by three goals, Szoboszlai had a golden chance to deepen United’s woes when he broke into the box, facing only Andre Onana. However, instead of firing home from eight yards, Szoboszlai tried to bypass Harry Maguire, ultimately squandering the opportunity.

This prompted Neville and Carragher to brand the Hungarian captain’s decision “unprofessional”, suggesting he was trying to embarrass United by effectively walking the ball into the net. An irate Neville commented: “He’s messing about there. He should be absolutely rollicked by the rest of his team-mates for that. That’s a liberty. It’s the sort of thing you’d do in training and get a telling off, never mind in a match at Old Trafford.”

The Mirror reports Liverpool legend Carragher was also left in disbelief at Szoboszlai’s choice during a key moment, expressing his exasperation with: “What is he doing? Is he trying to be cocky? If United get one back the crowd gets up, we saw yesterday what happened to Everton. That’s ridiculous, that, from Szoboszlai. That’s just ridiculous, it’s unprofessional.”

However, despite Neville’s rant, it was only two years ago he openly acknowledged his failure to be impartial while providing commentary on United’s crushing 4-0 defeat by Liverpool in April 2022, particularly with regards to Hannibal’s brief but heated appearance on the pitch.

The young player’s aggression during his 10-minute cameo caught Neville’s attention as he commented: “It takes a young kid to come on to show them how to sprint and put a challenge in.

“I’m actually proud of him. The kid showed something that he didn’t like the idea of Liverpool taking the mickey out of his team-mates. At least he showed something.” Post-match, Neville admitted his remarks perhaps bordered on “unprofessional” as he elaborated: “It wasn’t great him kicking players but that’s something Man United fans can take at least. There were some lads out there who are good lads, professional, but they’re broken.

“That is why I aired on to the slightly unprofessional side of commentary tonight. Then I said that the kid [Mejbri] to be fair I was proud of him because he was going round trying to top people and trying to kick people.”

During’s Neville’s illustrious playing career, the former England international was also known for how he would provoke Liverpool fans.

This was particularly evident in 2006 when he sprinted towards the away end at Old Trafford to exuberantly celebrate in front of them following Rio Ferdinand’s goal that led to them defeating their rivals. As a result, Neville was slapped with a £5,000 fine by The Football Association and he received a formal warning regarding his future behaviour.