Gary Neville and Simon Jordan have disagreed on the Premier League's decision to postpone and reschedule all fixtures this weekend following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Premier League issued a statement little over 24 hours before Fulham welcome Chelsea to Craven Cottage for the opening tie of game-week seven.
The former Manchester United defender believes that matches in both the Premier League and the English Football League should go ahead as planned. Neville said that, had the fixtures gone ahead, it would present to be perfect opportunity for clubs, players, staff and fans across the world to pay their respects.
But, the former Crystal Palace chairman and talkSPORT pundit thinks otherwise. Jordan has said that it was ‘absolutely the right decision’ to call off the fixtures.
READ MORE: Former Tottenham icon questions Premier League cancellation decision following The Queen's death
Neville voiced his thoughts via social media in response to a tweet by Pier Morgan. Morgan wrote: "Sporting events should go ahead.
"A) The Queen loved sport and B) It would be great to see/hear huge crowds singing the National Anthem in tribute to Her Majesty, as West Ham fans did so magnificently last night."
The former England international quote retweeted Morgan's post and agreed. Neville said: "I agree Piers. Sport can demonstrate better than most the respect the Queen deserves."
West Ham and Arsenal both paid their respects to the late Monarch during their respective Europa Conference League and Europa League clashes on Thursday night amid the breaking of the sad news. Both sets of supporters were heard singing the national anthem.
But, as aforementioned, Jordan has backed the Premier League and EFL chiefs' decision. Speaking on the White and Jordan talkSPORT show, he said: "I think it’s about right
"In other areas of commerce, for example, Selfridges have decided to close for today but will open again tomorrow, but I think sport has a very different dynamic. There is an element that you want society to go on and look forward. We have a new King coming and this is the natural order of events, but it is also a unique and unprecedented set of circumstances – we have lost our Queen of 70 years.
"I think it’s important that sport steps back, certainly for this weekend and certainly for the day of the funeral. I think that’s absolutely appropriate and sensible. Some people will want the distraction or want the games to go ahead… there will be people who have spent money on train fares and hotels, and I could say that they are only thinking about themselves, or perhaps it’s a fair point.
"But there are certain events and moments in time where you just have to stand back and nothing takes precedence, nothing becomes more important. So I think it’s absolutely right that the initiative from the government is ‘we’ll leave it with you, but we kind of expect a mature, sensible and reflective attitude’.
"Not everybody in the country supports the monarchy, but the bulk of people do and it means a lot to a lot of people. So while we saw the reaction from West Ham during the game where they sang God Save the Queen and there was an enormous outpouring of emotion, I think it’s appropriate that the nation stands back from this moment and reflects without distractions.
"And we can live without it. I think this is a moment in time where you have to say, ‘no balls get kicked, no balls get bowled, no punches get thrown, and the nation steps back and reflects’."
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