We take a look at Simon Jordan’s rant in full as he rages at “coward” Gary Neville for his admission at a Union Jack removal.
Jim White, Simon Jordan and Emmanuel Petit discussed that video from Gary Neville and his admission that he removed a Union Jack flag from one of his development sights in Manchester due to him feeling it was being used “in a negative fashion”.
Sky Sports meanwhile face boycott and sack calls as the former footballer turned pundit for the broadcaster also cited its use in divisive manner amid rising tensions and attacks on the Jewish community near his location in Manchester.
He condemned the division fuelled by “angry middle-aged white men” and the dangerous messaging linked to Brexit and hate speech.
Neville spoke of his patriotism, having represented England 85 times, but stressed the need for unity, drawing from his experience in diverse football teams.
He called for an end to promoting hate and restoring a country of “love, peace, and harmony.”
Sky Sports face boycott calls as Gary Neville explains why he took down a Union Jack flag
Jim White: “Gary Neville has revealed that he removed a Union flag from one of his Manchester building sites because they are being used, quote, ‘in a negative fashion’, according to him. The former England and Manchester United player spoken on a three minute video on LinkedIn, claiming the British public is, quotes, being turned on each other, whilst he also accused angry middle-aged white men of dividing the country by using the union flag in a negative fashion. This was Neville…”
Gary Neville says in the clip shown by talkSPORT: “I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we’re all being turned on each other and the division that’s being created is absolutely disgusting. Mainly created by angry middle-aged white men who know exactly what they’re doing.
“Funnily enough, on one of my development sites last week, there was a Union Jack flag put up, and I took it down instantly. And some people might be watching this and thinking, well, Gary, you’re not very patriotic. I played my country 85 times. I love my country. I love Manchester, and I love England.
“But I’ve been building in this city for 15, 20 years, and there’s no one put a Union Jack flag up in the last 15 to 20 years, so why do you need to put one up now?
“Quite clearly it’s sending a message to everybody that there is something you don’t like. The Union Jack flag being used in a negative fashion is not right.
“And I’m a proud supporter of England, of Great Britain, of our country. And we’ll champion it anywhere in the world, it’s been one of the greatest places to live.
“But I think we need to check ourselves. We need to check ourselves and sort of 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.”
"It's an appalling stance!"
"He's a champagne socialist and a coward… it's a dreadful thing!"
Simon Jordan reacts to Gary Neville admitting he removed a Union Jack flag from one of his development sites in Manchester. pic.twitter.com/FRc2e4Zmrc
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 6, 2025
Jim White: “That was Gary Neville. We’re about to go into an international break. We’re in an international break. And his England will be playing. And we’ll see the Union Jack, no doubt. The St George’s flag being waved about here, there and everywhere. Simon, can the flag be unifying in football, but in other areas of society, divisive?”
Simon Jordan: “I think it’s astonishing in the wake of an Islamist terror attack that he decides to have a go at middle-aged white men. Maybe the middle angry middle-aged white men are the ones that worked on minimum wage inside his hotel. I don’t know. I think he’s a Champagne socialist and a coward. I think it’s a dreadful thing to have said.”
Jim White: “How is he a coward?”
Simon Jordan: “Well, I think the real issue is about radical Islamist extremism, and he doesn’t have the balls to call it out for what it is, rather than suggest that people that are challenged in our country about what’s happening, he’s insulated from these things. He lives in a very rarefied world where his money and privilege has enabled him to live behind a gated environment, not have to worry about NHS appointments, not have to worry about people being attacked in the streets by immigrants that shouldn’t be here in the first place.
“He doesn’t have to worry about these things. And so he has the ability to be able to sit there and observe in such a way that insulates him from him, insulates himself from it. And I think it’s an appalling stance to have taken. He’s entitled to his view. He’s entitled to a view.
“We are quite happy to wave every other flag in this country, whether it’s Palestinian flags, Ukraine flags, or any other flag that we feel that we’re able to wave. But when you’re talking about people in this country that have legitimate concerns, and want to have a legitimate value set and push back against what they’re having forced upon them, for Gary Neville to say what he’s just said is the exact embodiment of what I said, which is a champagne socialist, which is insulated from the real world and a coward because the real issue is about some of the extremism that’s going on in this country.”
Jim White: “At this precise time in which we are living, do you think certain football fans will think twice about weaving a flag?”
Simon Jordan: “Well, depends. I mean, if you listen to ghastly ex-Labour MPs like Emily Thornberry, the only one that waves the flag of St. George’s is a thug and a Luddite. It depends who you want to listen to. I think you should be proud of your country. I think you should be proud of your country’s flag. It only seems to be this country that seems to think that because there were a few people, a minority of people that want to adopt it and utilise it for potentially the wrong reasons, that somehow it represents.
“It’s like suggesting that every single time you have an issue with something in this country, you push back against the narrative of undocumented young males coming across into our country, you’re a racist. There’s nothing racist about that. It’s having a concern and being able to voice it. And the politicians and people of influence in this country are not and have not been listening.
Jim White: “Emmanuel [Petit], you are a World Cup winner. How patriotic are you at this time about the French flag?”
Emmanuel: “A lot. Well, if you see my whole family, we’ve been so dedicated to the French flag and my whole family, cousins in the army, I got cousins as well working as teachers as well, national education. So we’ve been dealing with the country for many, many generations. So my grandfather was as well part of resistance, you know, from during the Second World War. So we’ve been we’ve been linked with France deeply, but as a patriot, not as nationalist people, which is for me the big difference, you know, of course, there are racist people in France. Of course, there is racist people in England. But for me, it’s the minority of people. So if you try to mix different things and you put confusion into people’s mind. And this is exactly what I don’t like. We’re living nowadays in our society, people are trying to divide us all the time, trying to point finger at you because you love your country.
“This is something I’ve been witnessing, you know, in France for years now, recently as well. I’ve been very shocked about what I’ve seen on TVs. People are trying to be proud of the French flag and all of a sudden there have been people around them pointing fingers at them saying that you should be ashamed about your flag. I am in France, I am a French guy, I love my country. So there is no reason why you’re telling me I’m a racist guy because I love my flag and I love my country.
“I mean if you travel everywhere in the world, you go into countries that are very nationalist, they’re very proud about their flag and we don’t see them as racist. I don’t get it, honestly.”
Jim White: “But do think Gary Neville has a point that maybe here there are certain individuals who are hijacking the flag, the Union flag?”
Emmanuel: “Sometimes, you know, when you go…”
Jim White: “It’s the same in France?”
Emmanuel: “Yeah, it’s totally the same in France. We’re trying to fight against, you know, as you said, Islamist, is very very bad, because we have millions of Muslims living in France and they are respecting the country and they want to live with us under the same flag with the same value. They have different religions and it doesn’t matter. If we have the same values we can live together. And there is a minority of people, they don’t want that. They want to split, they want to put confusion into people’s minds.
“So when I hear things like this, I feel sad. Honestly, I feel sad because you have to be proud of your country. And if someone wants to show the flag of the country, you must be happy with that.”
Simon Jordan: “I mean, I don’t really attach that much importance to what Gary Neville says anyway. But insofar as he’s a voice that people want to listen to, he’s a very good football observer, a very good football commentator.
“You need to understand the motivations of people and the reasons why they do things. And you’d be well served in remembering that these angry white men that you reference are the same angry white men that possibly have paid enormous amounts of money that have gone into extraordinary wages over the years.
“So you’d need to get some context and some balance and some empathy of understanding why people might think that valuing their flag in a time when our country has been challenged left, right and centre by a variety of issues, is something that people should want to do and doesn’t make them angry or doesn’t make them extreme and it doesn’t make them racist.”
Emmanuel: “There is something I don’t understand. He said that it’s only mid-white main.”
Simon Jordan: “Yeah, low hanging fruit, easy to do.”
Emmanuel: “There is only white English people in this country?”
Simon Jordan: “Well, it’s low hanging fruit, it’s an easy attack. It’s positioning itself against people like there is a character in this country called Tommy Robinson, that represents a certain viewpoints.”
Emmanuel: “Do you divide people when you say that.”
Simon Jordan: “Well, of course you do, but that will be lost on our Gary.”
Emmanuel: “I don’t understand that. I know black people that are French, know white people that are French. We don’t care about the colour of your skin, the religion. As I said, if you live under the same flag with the same value, I don’t care what you love in your life, you know. So when you say white men, for me, you make a really strong difference between people that showing the flag.”
Jim White: “You raised the flag, no doubt, in this international break. The French… You know, over here, the English flag is flown by many football fans. Is it the same in France? When you play a match, do the French feel…”
Emmanuel: “Of course, very proud. This is why I love football as well and sport, because this is the only part of the society when you can show your love, the love for your country without being pointed as a racist person. If you do that in the street, sometimes you can do that on national days, know, like for example, the 14th of July, which is a national day in France, you see so many French flag in the country. People don’t matter about that because this is the day for that. But more and more, it’s happening in my country, French flags disappear, you know.”
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