‘That didn’t feel right,’ says Gary Neville as Ian Wright opens up on FA Cup draw ‘fix’ claims
GARY NEVILLE joked Ian Wright’s FA Cup semi-final draw “didn’t feel right” after fans accused it of being “fixed”.
The draw took place on Sunday at Old Trafford following Manchester United’s thrilling 4-3 win over Liverpool.
The Red Devils were pitted against Championship side Coventry, while holders Manchester City were paired with Chelsea.
But the manner of the draw left many fans raging as Wright picked out the balls in front of Roy Keane and Graeme Souness in the studio.
They remained seated as Wright rummaged around in the famous velvet bag before showing the numbers to the camera.
And viewers had not been told beforehand which number related to which team.
The casual vibe was a far cry away from most draws, which usually take place in a more formal setting.
Teams were also drawn directly out of the bag rather than first being placed in a hat, as is traditionally the case.
And Manchester United legend Neville addressed the bizarre format when he spoke to Arsenal icon Wright on the latest edition of Stick to Football sponsored by Sky Bet.
He said: “That didn’t feel right at the end, you pulling it out like a Marks and Spencer’s bag.”
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Lionesses legend Jill Scott then questioned why “no one was laughing” about Wright’s comment that he was shaking his “ball bag”.
Before the ex-Gunners man replied: “Do you know how many people got crazy over that?
“It’s only four balls in. I think people were a little bit upset about the fact that we didn’t know who was one, two, three and four.
“But the main thing is they’re so stringent on ‘Don’t look in the bag, make sure the bag is tight before you open it so you’re not looking’.
“In the end people say ‘What is he doing the Stevie Wonder for?’ I wasn’t doing Stevie Wonder. I was just making sure I wasn’t looking in like this [moves his head away] and it looked like Stevie Wonder.
“But I didn’t want people to say ‘Ah, that draw was wrong’.
“Still people slaughtered you, but I thought it was a great draw.”
There is no evidence to substantiate claims the draw was fixed.