Gary Neville thinks two sports loved by millions are 'boring' and 'massively disappointing' after going to watch them live

Gary Neville says attending two major sporting events made him respect football much more.

The former Manchester United defender, who is also England's most-capped right-back of all time with 85 caps, has been on punditry duty throughout Euro 2024.

He has joined the likes of Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Karen Carney, Eni Aluko and Ange Postecoglou on ITV's coverage of this summer's European Championship.

And as well as appearing on the free-to-air public broadcast channel, the 49-year-old has entertained the masses on The Overlap.

This week, on the third episode of Stick to Football: The Overlap Special, brought to you by Sky Bet, Neville was joined by Jill Scott, Roy Keane, and Ian Wright to discuss England’s upcoming semi-final clash against the Netherlands.

But before doing that, they enjoyed a general chat about a range of different subjects. including a discussion about golf and F1.

Neville began: “I’ve been to two sporting events that people love, but I thought were massively disappointing and they aren’t spectator sports live.

"I went to Belfry for the Ryder Cup final day in 2013, you can’t see anything, and the other was the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. I thought it was the worst experience, and then I had to put in earplugs because of the noise from the cars and I just didn’t enjoy it at all."

He added: “I love golf and I do know that F1 is so popular, but going to those events made me respect football much more. When you’re watching football, you’re in the stadium, everyone is so engaged in what’s going on, and it’s an amazing sport to watch.”

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Ian Wright, meanwhile, would love to experience what the darts has to offer.

“A sporting event that I’d love to experience is going to the darts," the former Arsenal forward said. "It is quite rowdy being in the crowd, but to watch it live looks brilliant. I remember at the World Darts Championship, when both players were on for a nine darter, it was like watching perfection.

“Watching two players at the peak of their career, both on for a nine-darter, was like watching perfection. Luke Littler ended up getting the nine-darter and it was amazing.”