Andy Gray slammed by MP for comment that 'chilled the soul' during Arsenal chaos
Labour MP Ian Byrne has slammed football presenter Andy Gray for saying that Arsenal should've "opened the gates" when fans weren't able to enter the Emirates Stadium for safety reasons.
Arsenal's opening Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest on Saturday was delayed by 30 minutes due to what the club said were issues on the turnstiles, with kick-off being pushed back to 1pm before the Gunners won 2-1. Whilst footage of supporters being forced to stay outside of the ground played on Qatari-based network beIN Sports, Gray interrupted co-presenter Richard Keys to say: "Open the gates. Let them in... All those people there have got tickets."
Keys, who alongside Gray was sacked by Sky Sports in 2011 over derogatory comments about a female official, was left aghast by his colleague and said: "You can't just open the gates. That would be even worse. Can I remind you of what happened at Hillsborough?"
The Hillsborough tragedy - which occurred in 1989 and led to the death of 97 people - was seemingly what politician Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby, was referring to when he responded to a video of Gray and Keys' discussion which beIN Sports posted on Twitter. "Commentary which chills the soul," Byrne wrote. "What was Andy Gray thinking?"
Users shared Byrne's outrage, with one replying: "People saying 'he wasn't thinking' but the Hillsborough comparison was pointed out immediately and he ignored it. He knew exactly what he was saying! Disgusting!"
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Another wrote back: "Oh my! Well called out. Clearly Lesson have been learned here. Delaying the kick off and managing the entry is much more sensible."
Mirror Football has contacted beIN Sports for comment.
Post-match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about the ticket chaos and he replied: "We apologise to all of them. We will look at it. Thank you to the refs and Forest to allow the kick off to be delayed and have the atmosphere that we did."
Andy Gray and Richard Keys talking on beIN Sports coverage (beinSports)The game eventually got under way safely at 1pm, with the Emirates in full voice and ready for action. There was even more noise when Eddie Nketiah gave a dominant Arsenal the lead on 25 minutes, profiting from a superb pirouette and back heel from team-mate Gabriel Martinelli before slamming past ex-Gunners goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Bukayo Saka then scored a breathtaking goal prior to half-time, cutting side on his favoured left foot and firing the ball into the top corner, leaving Turner with no chance. Arsenal then suffered a blow when new £38million signing Jurrien Timber had to be withdrawn with an injury early in the second half.
Following Timber's injury, the match was much more closely contested. Forest even threatened to snatch a draw after Taiwo Awoniyi made it 2-1 with eight minutes of normal time remaining, but the hosts clung on to take all three points and get their Premier League campaign off to a winning start.
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