Graeme Souness has defended describing football as a “man’s game” following Chelsea’s feisty draw with Tottenham on Sunday.
The Sky Sports pundit discussed the ill-tempered affair, with the two managers Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte twice clashing on the touchline.
Souness praised referee Anthony Taylor for letting plenty to go and allowing the game to flow.
“Referees are letting a lot more go and it makes for a better watch,” he said. “We’ve all played the game, with simulation and people throwing themselves into the ground. I haven’t seen that in the two games today. It’s a man’s game all of a sudden now.”
England and Chelsea star Bethany England led the criticism of Souness, stating: “‘It’s a man’s game’, “men at it”. Get in the bin, what a disgraceful thing to say after the summer this country has just seen.”
Former Lioness Eniola Aluko added: “Awkward turtles, Graeme Souness talking about ‘it’s a man’s game again’ sat next to an England centurion Karen Carney, two weeks after Lionesses end a 56-year wait and win European Championships. Come on. It’s not okay.”
When asked whether he regretted the comments, Souness told Talksport: “Not a word of it. Let me explain. I’ve been advocating for years that the referees have such a major part to play in the success of the Premier League.
“We’ve got to be careful what we say today and I’ve not been very good at that, but we were becoming like other leagues.
“They were blowing the whistle all the time and it wasn’t a good watch. Our game has always been unique, more meaty, more in your face and more intense and we got away from that.
“My comments yesterday were saying we’ve got our game back. That is the kind of football I remember playing in. We’ve got to be better for it. The directive to the referees is long overdue, we’ve got our game back.
“I enjoyed two games of football yesterday where men were playing men and they got about themselves and were falling out with each other.
“Okay, I don’t think we should be condoning the thing on the touchline, but I’ve been there. If you are on the touchline and things aren’t going your way and you feel there’s been an injustice. You’ve worked all week for these 90 minutes.”
