Phil Neville apologises for accusing MLS referees of cheating in huge meltdown

‘It was a one-off’: Phil Neville apologises for accusing MLS referees of cheating in huge meltdown after Inter Miami suffered FIFTH loss in a row to New York Red Bulls

  • Inter Miami boss Phil Neville has apologised for his furious rant at MLS referees
  • Neville lost his temper following Inter Miami’s 1-0 defeat at New York Red Bulls
  • He accused the league’s officials for repeatedly ‘cheating’ his team this season
  • Gonzalo Higuain’s goal was disallowed on Saturday, seeing Inter Miami lose 1-0
  • Neville has since apologised for his out burst and blamed the ’emotion of losing’ 


Inter Miami boss Phil Neville has apologised for his furious rant at MLS referees earlier this week, claiming it was a ‘one-off’.

Neville lost his temper following Inter Miami’s 1-0 defeat at New York Red Bulls on Saturday. He accused the league’s officials for repeatedly ‘cheating’ his team after Gonzalo Higuain’s goal was disallowed.  

Neville has since apologised for his outburst and blamed the ’emotion of losing a really important game’ for his inappropriate ‘terminology’. 

Inter Miami boss Phil Neville has apologised for his furious rant at MLS referees this week 

Neville lost his and accused the league's officials for repeatedly 'cheating' his team after Gonzalo Higuain's goal was disallowed in the 1-0 defeat on Saturday

Neville lost his and accused the league’s officials for repeatedly ‘cheating’ his team after Gonzalo Higuain’s goal was disallowed in the 1-0 defeat on Saturday 

Speaking after the 1-0 loss to New York, Neville told reporters: ‘Ok so, I’m just going to go full barrel. We got cheated in Portland and we’ve been again tonight.

‘I don’t want to sound like a broken record but something is fundamentally wrong with the way referees treat Inter Miami. 

‘We’re playing in one of the best leagues in the world and I’m having a great experience, but ultimately I’ve got a dressing room that’s asking real, real questions about the integrity of this league in terms of the decisions we keep getting.

The result saw them fall to their fifth defeat in a row, putting them outside of the play-off spots

The result saw them fall to their fifth defeat in a row, putting them outside of the play-off spots 

Neville (above) has since apologised for his out burst and blamed the 'emotion of losing a really important game' for his inappropriate 'terminology'

Neville (above) has since apologised for his out burst and blamed the ’emotion of losing a really important game’ for his inappropriate ‘terminology’

‘There has to be a massive investigation into the decisions given against Inter Miami. We want this to be the best league in the world, but we’ve got decisions like that.’    

However, Neville has now backtracked on his comments and apologised for his behaviour.    

‘After the game I said the things that I said in the emotions of losing a really important game and in terms of feelings of the last two or three games, feeling a bit hard done by a couple of decisions that didn’t go our way,’ Neville said at a press conference.

‘I used the wrong terminology to describe how I felt. I used the wrong word — cheat — which should never be used towards officials or in games of football.

David Beckham employed his old team-mate for his club's second season but it has backfired

David Beckham employed his old team-mate for his club’s second season but it has backfired

‘I had really good dialogue with both MLS and the PRO referees [organization] in terms of the decisions, my behaviour, the word used, and the respect that is needed from both sides, and obviously my assurance that this was just a one-off.’ 

Following their dreadful run Miami find themselves eight points behind Montreal, the team occupying the final play-off spot. 

Their 14 defeats in 2021 is already worse than Beckham’s club’s debut last year, and Neville’s reunion with his old Man United team-mate is turning into a nightmare.   

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