Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli has apologised for trying to push injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley off the pitch during Thursday’s 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Bradley landed awkwardly near the touchline while chasing the ball in stoppage time, immediately clutching his knee. Martinelli dropped the ball near him before shoving him in the back, seemingly to move him off the pitch and allow play to continue.
The incident sparked a melee between the two teams, with both Martinelli and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté receiving yellow cards. Bradley was treated on the pitch, stretchered off, and later left the stadium on crutches wearing a knee brace. Former Manchester United players Gary Neville and Roy Keane were highly critical of Martinelli, with Neville calling him an “idiot” and describing the actions as “absolutely disgraceful.”
Martinelli later apologised on social media, saying he had not realised the severity of Bradley’s injury in the heat of the moment. “I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment,” he wrote. “I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slot defended Martinelli, noting that time-wasting in football often provokes frustration. “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy,” Slot said. “The problem for him – and in football generally – is that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending to be injured. You can sometimes get annoyed if you want to try to score a goal. You cannot ask Martinelli to think so clearly in the 94th minute.” He added that Martinelli would have acted differently if he had known the full extent of Bradley’s injury.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also defended Martinelli, describing him as an “incredible, lovely guy” and stressing that there was no intention to harm Bradley. Bradley’s teammate Dominik Szoboszlai said the defender was in too much pain to continue and could not even register where he had landed before being pushed. Szoboszlai emphasised that a player’s health is far more important than winning or time-wasting.
Neville, providing co-commentary, was visibly angered, saying, “You can’t push him off the pitch. You cannot do that, you idiot. That’s so poor. I’m surprised the Liverpool players didn’t go over and have a right pop at him. Absolutely disgraceful.” Keane echoed the sentiment after the match, calling the episode a “disgrace” and adding, “You don’t know the injury the player’s got, it looks pretty bad, and you’re trying to push him off the pitch? Not good stuff.”
Source: BBC
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
