Football commentator blasts Gary O’Neil over ‘respect’ after Wolves manager’s complaint about

Commentator Rob Palmer took aim at Gary O’Neil following the Wolves manager’s complaints about Coventry City boss Mark Robins and his ball boy celebration

O’Neil called out Robins for celebrating in front of a 13-year-old ball boy after his Coventry City side pulled off a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory in their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday (March 16), labelling his counterpart’s actions as “disgusting”.

That got the back up of Palmer, who works for ESPN and Sky Sports. He took to social media and wrote: “Same man taking about ‘respect’ who once…

“Demanded a TV crew who’d made a six hour round trip come back the next day because he wasn’t in the mood for a planned interview. The next day, another six hr round trip for a six minute interview. Congratulations @Coventry_City.”

One fan responded saying “he can’t control how long the journey is for a crew tbf,” to which Palmer replied: “Fair point. But he could have turned up for a scheduled interview. The great Gordon McQueen, Middlesbrough chief scout at the time, and the club’s media officer, dumbfounded and embarrassed.”

Palmer had taken issue with O’Neil’s comments about his respect towards the Coventry coaching staff. “I was really respectful at the end, having lost a massive game,” he said post-match.

“I waited for them to finish their celebrations, shook everyone’s hands, congratulated them on a real good performance, reaching Wembley and [told them] what a fantastic achievement it was, and he apologised.

“To celebrate in a young boy’s face like that, I thought was disgusting. The boy’s really upset. It shouldn’t happen, of course it shouldn’t. I thought it was really important for me to speak to Mark about it afterwards because they’re just kids doing a job.”

Robins did apologise for his celebrations, which he explained was because the ball boy had tried to waste time for the hosts when they were leading 2-1 before stoppage time.

“I have an apology to make,” he told reporters. “He’s a young kid, so I’m apologising to him. He has the ball in his hand, drops it and walks away smiling. It really annoyed me but he is a kid.

“I have reacted, we scored a goal and I’ve gone and celebrated in front of him. I don’t show emotion very often but I did today and that is what the FA Cup does to you. I apologise unreservedly to him.”