Former England striker Stan Collymore criticises Gary Neville's 'middle-aged white men' rant on LBC
Ex-Liverpool ace Collymore criticised his compatriot for being too 'tribal' in his controversial rant
Former England international footballer Stan Collymore has criticised ex-teammate Gary Neville for his Union Flag rant, telling LBC that he believes Britain has become too "tribal".
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Collymore was asked by LBC's Ben Kentish about whether he agreed with former England teammate Gary Neville, who said that "angry middle-aged white men" are dividing the nation by raising Union flags in remarks about the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
The former Liverpool striker responded: "No. Once you start talking about one group then you you absolutely feel that you've got to then go hard on the other group and it just becomes a vicious circle.
"There are many, many people in this country that just want to get up in the morning go to work, put food on the table, leave a few quid for their family, and enjoy this experience of life in we're very privileged to live in a in a great country.
"The problem is that when people don't engage their brain, they go into tribal mode. My tribe's better than your tribe and I'm getting less of the pie than you are."
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Former Manchester United defender Neville made the remarks just a day after two men were killed during a terror attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Greater Manchester.
Neville, who owns Salford City FC and lives in Manchester, took to Linkedin to share his thoughts on the “horrible scenes”.
But just moments into the video, he descended into a rant about the widespread flying of Union and St George's Cross flags as he chimed into the contentious debate about patriotism.
He said: “Seeing the news last night and the news this morning dominated by the horrific attacks within the Jewish community, just a mile from here.
“When I was driving to Salford City last night, going down Littleton Road, I seen probably 50 or 60 Union Jack flags. And on the way back I went down the parallel road, Bury New Road, which has got the Jewish community right at its heart and they’re out on the streets, defiant, not hiding or in fear.
“I just kept thinking as I was driving home last night that we’re all being turned on each other. And the division that’s being created is absolutely disgusting. Mainly created by angry, middle-aged white men, who know exactly what they’re doing.”
“Funnily enough on one of my development sites last week there was a Union Jack flag put up and I took it down instantly.”
The widespread flying of Union and St George's Cross flags, following an online campaign called Operation Raise the Colours, has become contentious and several local authorities have removed them from public infrastructure.
Some politicians have decried their removal claiming they are a show of patriotism and national pride, while others claim the increased number of flags is a result of xenophobia or racism linked to the far right and anti-migrant protestors.
Neville claimed putting up Union Jack flags is clearly “sending a message to everybody that there is something you don’t like”, arguing it is being used in a “negative fashion".