Portsmouth fans have made their feelings clear on Gabriel Martinelli after the Arsenal winger was involved in an unsavoury incident with Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley on Thursday
Gabriel Martinelli has come under fire for his reaction to Conor Bradley’s injury(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images))
Portsmouth fans booed Gabriel Martinelli during their FA Cup tie against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
Martinelli, 24, who has faced criticism following the incident that involved him and Liverpool defender Conor Bradley on Thursday night, was jeered and whistled every time he got the ball at Fratton Park.
With Bradley lying on the floor after appearing to suffer a serious knee injury during Thursday’s 0-0 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool, Martinelli threw the ball in his direction and pushed him off the pitch. Martinelli was shown a yellow card for the incident, which provoked anger from Arne Slot’s players.
READ MORE: Conor Bradley season over after Liverpool confirm ‘significant knee injury’READ MORE: Dominik Szoboszlai calls out Gabriel Martinelli over Conor Bradley incident branded ‘disgraceful’
With Martinelli back in action for Arsenal in the FA Cup on Sunday, the Portsmouth supporters decided to boo the Brazilian when he got the ball. Audible jeers were heard every time the ball made its way to Martinelli.
Even after Martinelli scored Arsenal’s second goal in the first half, Portsmouth fans booed the former Corinthians man as his name was read from the tannoy system. And then when Martinelli missed a guilt-edge chance to make it 3-1 to the Gunners later in the opening half, Pompey fans were heard singing: “You’re just a s*** Conor Chaplin.”
The forward ended up with a hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over the Pompey to book their place in the FA Cup draw on Monday night.
Despite that, it’s clear the Portsmouth fans were not impressed with Martinelli after the incident with Bradley, who is set for a long spell on the sidelines with a serious knee injury, Liverpool confirmed on Sunday afternoon.
In a statement, the Reds said: “Liverpool FC can confirm Conor Bradley has sustained a significant knee injury. The right-back suffered the issue in the latter stages of Thursday night’s Premier League fixture away at Arsenal.
“Bradley will undergo surgery in the coming days and then begin a period of rehabilitation at the AXA Training Centre. No timeframe is being placed on his return to playing at this stage of the process.”
Martinelli apologised to Bradley in the aftermath of the goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium. Taking to Instagram, the Arsenal winger said: “Conor and I have messaged and I have already apologised to him.
“I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment. I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery.”
It came after Gary Neville branded Martinelli as “disgraceful”, and adding: “I’m fuming with Martinelli. I don’t know how Liverpool players didn’t go over to absolutely whack him to be honest with you.”
Neville’s former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane added: “I didn’t like it at all. It happened to me once. I was badly injured and a player stood over me. It’s not good. We know football, the player is a good lad. Throwing the ball at him, standing over him and getting a little knee on him. He tries to force him off.
“That behaviour is an absolute disgrace. He’s a good boy to roll over himself. Hopefully, Martinelli will have a look at it and hopefully, he’ll apologise for it. Not good stuff that.”
