Gabriel Martinelli criticised for behaviour during Arsenal’s draw
Gabriel Martinelli was branded an “idiot” by Gary Neville following a heated confrontation during the closing moments of Arsenal’s goalless draw against Liverpool, reports BritPanorama.
The incident occurred deep into stoppage time when the Brazilian winger forcefully pushed injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley off the playing surface. Bradley had twisted the lower portion of his left leg after clearing the ball forward, collapsing to the ground in visible distress near the touchline.
As Bradley remained on the ground, Martinelli appeared to throw the ball at him before gesturing to referee Anthony Taylor that Bradley should move off the pitch to allow play to resume. Neville expressed his outrage, stating, “You can’t push him off the pitch. You cannot do that. You idiot. That is so poor.”
The Arsenal winger’s actions drew further ire when Liverpool’s squad reacted angrily, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister charging towards him. Neville noted, “I don’t know how the Liverpool players didn’t go over and absolutely whack him to be honest with you and take a red card. Absolutely disgraceful, that.” Martinelli received a yellow card for his actions, while Ibrahima Konate was also cautioned after pushing the winger.
Declan Rice intervened to separate the players as tensions threatened to boil over. Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane described Martinelli’s behaviour as “an absolute disgrace,” recalling a past incident from his own career when he experienced similar treatment while injured. “I didn’t like it. It happened to me once before when I was badly injured with a player stood over me,” Keane said.
Szoboszlai shared his perspective after the match, acknowledging the competitiveness of the game but insisting that “the health of a player is more important.” Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge added that the situation was “worse than disrespectful,” reminding players to show greater self-awareness when opponents are injured.
In light of the incident, Martinelli took to Instagram to apologise, indicating that he had reached out to Bradley directly. “Conor and I have messaged, and I have already apologised to him. I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment,” he explained. He further expressed, “I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all the best again for a quick recovery.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot offered a tempered response, suggesting that Martinelli would not have acted the way he did had he understood the severity of the injury, while acknowledging, “it doesn’t look great.” Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta defended his player’s character, emphasising that Martinelli is “an incredibly lovely guy” who “probably didn’t recognise what happened,” and stated that he intended to speak with Bradley personally.
In the midst of high-stakes competition, moments like these serve as a poignant reminder of the fine line athletes navigate between passion for the game and responsibility towards fellow players.
