‘Nev should be punished for Tweets’, says group
NEW England Women boss Phil Neville should be facing the possibility of punishment from the Football Association over “misogynistic and sexist” tweets, Kick It Out has said.
The anti-discrimination group also said it had “serious concerns” over Neville’s suitability for his new job.
The former United player has no previous experience of working in women’s football, and the FA surprisingly turned to him when a host of better-qualified candidates pulled out of the running.
Neville has been forced to apologise for a series of historic tweets, and the FA has previously taken retrospective action over such messages on social media.
Neville tweeted in 2012 that he did not expect women to have been reading his posts because they would have been busy “preparing breakfast/getting kids ready/making the beds”.
Kick It Out chief executive Roisin Wood said: “In light of recent action taken in response to historical social media comments made by current football participants, the question must now be asked will the FA be charging Neville for posting discriminatory comments on social media?”
She added: “We believe that if the FA wants to recover the confidence of the public, it must ensure that the concerns surrounding Phil Neville’s appointment are comprehensively addressed.”
Neville appeared to delete his Twitter account, @fizzer18, after the comments came to light.
He apologised yesterday, saying: “Following comments made a number of years ago I would like to clarify that they were not and are not a true and genuine reflection of either my character or beliefs, and would like to apologise.” THE badge point after a breathless debut goal against West Ham, cupping his ear in celebration after silencing his former supporters at Everton, the primal scream at St Mary’s...there was no stopping Romelu Lukaku as summer faded into autumn.
But even though the goals have dried up in winter – just six in the last 27 games – you can’t fault the Belgian’s contribution, whether it is those huge jumps as he attempts to make contact with an aerial avalanche or a game-winning assist for Anthony Martial’s winner at Burnley.
Mourinho values that as much as his goals – correctly predicting that Lukaku’s critics would round on him when he went the goals inevitably dried up – and that is why Lukaku’s place will never be in danger.
Like fellow summer signing Nemanja Matic, Lukaku has not enjoyed much time off and has featured in 94 per cent of United’s games this season, starting more matches than any other player.
Not even Zlatan Ibrahimovic eased the burden despite Lukaku bizarrely being banished to the right wing to accommodate him on his remarkable return against Newcastle in November.
Having the 36-year-old steal the limelight and breathe down his neck has not necessarily had the desired impact, and the pair’s botched partnership summed up a frustrating festive period for United as they constantly operated in similar zones.
But Alexis Sanchez is different. The Chilean will ease the goalscoring burden, occasionally spearheading United’s frontline to give Lukaku a deserved rest, and expect him to have a positive influence on the No.9 – whatever position he plays.
Sanchez enjoyed his best goalscoring season as a lone striker at Arsenal last season, scoring 30 goals, but his preferred position is cutting in on his right foot from the left flank and letting rip from 25 yards.
Tellingly, the Chilean only namechecked the left wing and central positions in his first interview as a United player – even if he vowed to ‘fit in anywhere.’
You would expect him to be on the right wing, where United have lacked a natural option for some time now, and that was the position where Sanchez initially made his name at Udinese.
The turning point for Sanchez came when future Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin was appointed at the Stadio Friuli in the summer of 2010.
The Italian unleashed Sanchez in the No.10 role behind the prolific Antonio Di Natale in a 3-5-1-1 formation, rightly predicting the new role would make the most of his creativity. It proved a masterstroke. Unfashionable Udinese went on to record their highest ever points total – finishing in fourth place – and Di Natale and Sanchez’s goals were crucial. You could imagine a similar partnership developing between Sanchez and Lukaku. The Chilean will have spoken at length with Ciaran Kelly 39