Pitch invaders disrupt League Two game in ‘Gary Neville is a traitor’ flag protest | Gary Neville

Salford’s League Two match against Oldham was briefly interrupted when two men attempted to plant a St George flag in the center circle of the Peninsula Stadium.

The men entered the pitch at half-time wearing white hoodies reading “Gary Neville is a traitor” and were then led away by stewards and police.

The far-right group Britain First later claimed responsibility for the demonstration, saying they had “joined together with local Salford patriots” to protest “Gary Neville’s betrayal”, referring to the Salford owner’s decision to remove the union flag from one of his development sites in Manchester this month.

A day after the deadly attack on Manchester’s Heaton Park synagogue, Neville posted a video online saying he had removed the flag from his property because it was “used in a negative way”, as he called on his followers to question what it means to be a patriot.

The former England defender turned property developer said he believed “we’re all against each other” and blamed much of the division on “angry, middle-aged white men who know exactly what they’re doing”.

He added: “Last week a Union Jack flag was raised on one of my development sites and I took it down immediately. Some people may be watching this and thinking: ‘Gary, you’re not really a patriot.’ I played 85 times for my country, I love my country, I love Manchester and I love England.

“The Union Jack flag used in a negative way is not right and I am a proud supporter of England, Great Britain and our country and will defend it as one of the greatest places to live anywhere in the world.

“But I think we need to check ourselves, control ourselves, and start thinking about getting ourselves to a neutral point, because we are being pulled left and right, and we don’t need to be pulled left and right at all.”

The match restarted after the pitch was invaded and Salford won 1-0.