Graeme Souness has stood by his controversial “man’s game” comments, insisting that he doesn’t regret a single word he said after the feisty match between Chelsea and Tottenham.
Souness found himself in hot water on Sunday evening following comments he made in his capacity as a pundit on Sky Sports. Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Spurs was packed full of contentious incidents and ended with a melee on the touchline when Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte clashed over a handshake.
While Tuchel was furious with Anthony Taylor for his decision-making, Souness praised the referee for letting the London derby flow, as is the directive for match officials in the Premier League. The former Liverpool midfielder said: “Referees are letting a lot more go and it allows for a better watch. It’s a man's game all of a sudden now. I thoroughly enjoyed both games today.”
His comments were met with a raised eyebrow from former England international Karen Carney, who was sitting next to him in the studio, and sparked a backlash online. Lioness Bethany England and former player Eni Aluko were among those to accuse Souness of belittling women’s football straight after England’s brilliant success at Euro 2022. Chelsea forward England tweeted: “'It’s a man’s game'. 'Men at it'. Get in the [bin emoji] what a disgraceful thing to say after the summer this country has just seen.”
However, asked by talkSPORT whether or not he regretted the comments on Monday morning, Souness said: “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.”
Hours later, Souness issued a further statement via Sky Sports. "To clarify my comments from yesterday, I was referring to the two Premier League matches I watched live on Sunday afternoon, rather than the sport of football," he said. "Football is a game for everyone to enjoy."
Souness played from 1970 to 1991 and made his name as a hugely-successful and tough-tackling midfielder and captain before embarking on a coaching career. The 69-year-old went into management and took charge of Rangers, Liverpool, Blackburn and Newcastle, among other sides, before turning to punditry.
