A League Two fixture between Salford City and Oldham Athletic descended into chaos when demonstrators stormed the pitch wearing white hoodies sporting the message "Gary Neville is a traitor".
The protesters disrupted play during the first half at Peninsula Stadium, with some carrying St George's flags whilst one attempted to stake their flag at the centre spot.
Security personnel intervened to escort multiple pitch invaders from the playing area as the match was temporarily suspended. The demonstration was accompanied by hostile chanting directed at the Manchester United legend, including explicit abuse and nationalist slogans.
The protest appeared to be a direct response to controversial statements made by the Sky Sports pundit regarding patriotic symbols.
Fans stormed the pitch with hoodies saying "Gary Neville is a traitor!"
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The disruption followed recent remarks by Neville criticising how national flags were being utilised across England. The former England international, who represented his country 85 times, expressed concern about the Union Jack and St George's Cross being weaponised for divisive purposes.
Speaking via his LinkedIn platform, Neville revealed he had removed a Union Jack from one of his construction projects the previous week.
"I've been building in this city for 15-20 years, and there's no one put a union jack flag up in 15-20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?" he stated.
The 50-year-old, who joined Labour in 2022, suggested the nation was "being turned on each other" by "angry, middle-aged white men who know what they're doing".
Neville defended his patriotism whilst explaining his stance on national symbols.
"I love my country, I love Manchester and I love England," he declared, emphasising his pride in representing Great Britain globally.
Gary Neville cuased outrage on social media when he spoke after the attack in Manchester earlier this month
|However, he cautioned against the misuse of patriotic imagery, stating: "The Union Jack flag used in a negative fashion is not right and I'm a proud supporter of England, of Great Britain, of our country and will champion it anywhere in the world as one of the greatest places to live."
The television pundit urged reflection on current divisions, suggesting society needed to "check ourselves and start to think about bringing ourselves back to a neutral point because we're being pulled right and left and we don't need to be pulled right and left at all."
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Neville's involvement with Salford began in 2014 when he joined an investment consortium alongside former Manchester United teammates Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs. He subsequently purchased Peter Lim's majority shareholding in 2024.
Earlier this year, Neville partnered with David Beckham to lead a new investment group focused on expanding the club's ambitions.
Sky Sports chose not to punish Gary Neville for his comments | GETTYDespite achieving promotion to the Football League in 2020, the Greater Manchester outfit have remained in League Two for seven successive campaigns.
The disrupted fixture ultimately concluded with a 1-0 victory for the hosts against ten-player Oldham. Former Premier League striker Fabio Borini marked his unexpected arrival at the club by appearing as a substitute, having signed a short-term contract just 24 hours earlier.