Former Liverpool supervisor Graeme Souness says he doesn’t remorse calling soccer “a man’s game” after Chelsea’s explosive Premier League conflict towards Tottenham regardless of a livid response to his feedback.
Souness mentioned he was glad that referee Anthony Taylor allowed the gamers to have interaction in a sequence of aggressive tackles through the feisty 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea supervisor Thomas Tuchel and his Tottenham counterpart Antonio Conte had been each despatched off after an indignant change on the touchline.
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Souness, 69, who was a tough-tackling midfielder, relished the bodily nature of the London derby, saying: “It’s a person’s recreation abruptly once more.
“I think we’ve got our football back, as I would enjoy football, men at it, blow for blow, and the referee letting them get on with it.”
But the ex-Liverpool and Scotland participant’s views, expressed in his function as a tv pundit, triggered a backlash from present and former feminine England gamers.
The Lionesses’ historic Euro 2022 triumph final month has boosted the recognition of the ladies’s recreation in England.
Eni Aluko, capped 102 instances by the Lionesses, and Beth England, a part of the squad that gained the Euros, each criticised Souness on social media.
Chelsea ahead England mentioned Souness’s feedback had been a “disgraceful thing to say after the summer this country has just seen”.
Aluko, now the sporting director of Angel City FC within the United States, wrote: “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.”
However, Souness, requested by Talksport on Monday if he regretted his feedback, was unrepentant.
“Not a word of it,” he mentioned. “I’ve been advocating for years that the referees have such a significant half to play within the success of the Premier League.
“We’ve acquired to watch out what we are saying at this time and I’ve not been superb at that, however we had been turning into like different leagues.
“My comments yesterday were saying we’ve got our game back. That is the kind of football I remember playing in.”
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