Forest deny Gary Neville entry to the City Ground

Nottingham Forest have banned former player Gary Neville from the game against Chelsea on Sunday because of his comments against club owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Neville, who works as a pundit for Sky Sports, was highly critical of Marinakis after he allegedly went on the pitch to reproach Nuno Espirito Santo for the draw against Leicester City, something the club later denied, saying the manager only reproached him for not removing Taiwo Awoniyi, who suffered a serious abdominal injury and had to be put into a coma.

According to Neville, Forest have not allowed him access to the City Ground on Sunday for work and he will not be able to comment on the game. "I've done criticism and praise in my 14 years in this job and I've never experienced a situation like this," Neville said on social media.

"Personally, I think it's disappointing that a club as big as Nottingham Forest have made a decision like this. While they have every right in the world to choose who they let into their stadium, this is symptomatic of what has happened at the club over the last 12 months."

'Sky Sports' backed Neville, saying this situation is "unprecedented" and in response they will be watching the game from their London studios rather than travelling to the City Ground.