Gary Neville has been involved with Salford City since 2014
Salford City's League Two fixture against Oldham Athletic was delayed after two pitch invaders attempted to plant a St George's flag inside the centre circle at the Peninsula Stadium.
The two men entered the field during the first half, in protest to Salford co-owner Gary Neville, before being removed by stewards and then police.
Bearing white hoodies displaying the message "Gary Neville is a traitor", they are not thought to be supporters of either Salford or Oldham.
Far-right group Britain First have claimed responsibility for the incident saying they "teamed up with local Salford patriots" to protest against the "treachery of Gary Neville".
Greater Manchester Police said they have arrested three men on suspicion of entering the field of play, with the alleged offence coming under the Football Offences Act.
In the wake of the attack at Crumpsall synagogue in which two men were killed, and is being treated by police as a terror incident, Neville posted a video on social media accusing "angry, middle-aged white men" of dividing the country by "using the Union Jack in a negative fashion".
In recent months, people in some communities across the country have hung Union and St George's cross flags from lampposts, motorway bridges and painted colours on roundabouts.
The former Manchester United and England defender, who along with David Beckham completed a full takeover of Salford in May, also posted on LinkedIn how he had removed a Union flag from one of his building sites.
"I love my country, I love Manchester, I love England," Neville said. "But I've been building in this city for 15-20 years and nobody has put a Union Jack flag up, so why do you need to put one up now?
"Quite clearly, it's sending a message to everybody that there's something you don't like."
Salford's Dan Udoh celebrates scoring the only goal of the game against Oldham
Despite the delay, Salford ended their run of three consecutive losses in League Two with a 1-0 win over their local rivals.
The Ammies scored the only goal of the game after a scramble in the box following a missed penalty before Oldham were reduced to 10 men in the second half.
Oldham started the game brightly, forcing Salford goalkeeper Matty Young into two saves with efforts from outside the area by Tom Pett and Ryan Woods.
But the home side opened the scoring after they were awarded a penalty when Kelly Nmai was brought down by Manny Monthe.
Kadeem Harris' effort from the spot came off the post, before a scramble in the box which was eventually headed home by Dan Udoh.
Salford got hold of the game after going ahead, with Latics goalkeeper Matthew Hudson notably called into action on two occasions from Haji Mnoga, the second of which nearly doubled Salford's lead on the stroke of half-time.
Just after, Oldham could have been level when Joe Quigley was found unmarked at the back post, but his effort was easily stopped by Young.
Oldham were reduced to 10 men after 64 minutes when Will Sutton was dismissed for a last-man trip on Nmai just outside the area.
Despite being a man down, the visitors pushed for an equaliser and Joe Garner fired over the bar from close range as the game entered stoppage time.
Salford's win is their first in the league since their victory over Swindon in September, while Oldham are now winless in four in the league.
'You'll take any sort of win' - reaction
Salford City manager Karl Robinson said: "It could've been three or four.
"When you don't take the chances like we created it's going to be a typical derby finish even though they had one man less.
"I thought we showed some steely determination and grit.
"Off the back of losing three games, you'll take any sort of win in some ways."
Robinson: 'It could've been three or four'
Oldham Athletic manager Mickey Mellon said: "We conceded the first goal too early after poor defending. Until that point, we were looking OK.
"Effort wise, I can never fault us, but we had to show a lot more quality in order to make it difficult for Salford.
"In the second half we went down to 10 men early, but we kept working hard and we turned it into a scrap and forced a few things.
"Over the course of the game I don't think we played anywhere near what we're capable of."
Mellon: 'I couldn't fault the effort'
