Souness ‘sacked’ by Sky Sports as punishment for ‘clumsy man’s game’ comment – ‘mole’ claims

Lewis Oldham
Souness 'sacked' by Sky

Richard Keys has boldly claimed that he has been told by a Sky ‘insider’ that Graeme Souness was ‘sacked’ as they decided the pundit’s ‘race was run’.

At the end of April, it was confirmed that Souness will be leaving Sky Sports at the end of this season. He has been a pundit for the broadcaster for 15 years.

Upon this announcement, Souness jokingly claimed that he “owes 100 apologies” to people he’s “said some harsh things to”. Paul Pogba should be expecting a call, then.

Souness was lauded by Gary Neville after his Sky Sports exit was formalised but if Keys is to be believed, his departure is not as black and white as it seems.

Before we get to these quotes, it’s worth noting that they are from Keys, so his claims must be taken with an almighty pinch of salt. But they are utterly mindblowing so they need to be brought to our readers’ attention.

So, here it goes. A ‘Sky insider’ (who has good sources, apparently) is said to have informed Keys that Souness was ‘sacked’.

‘Graeme Souness’s ‘retirement’ from Sky didn’t feel right to me – especially when I read his Daily Mail column suggesting he was still ‘open for business’,’ Keys wrote in his blog.

‘A conversation relayed to me from a Sky ‘insider’ this week tells me I was right – he was sacked. Well – it was decided his race was run. Same thing really.

‘I have to say immediately that I wouldn’t trust the individual who reported the info as far as I could throw him – but he’s made a career of man-marking senior management figures in order to protect himself so this time I believe him. His sources will be good.’

The plot thickened deeper into the blog post. Keys has relayed that Sky Sports ‘decided to dispense’ with Souness ‘at the first opportunity’ after his ‘man’s game’ remark.

‘It turns out it was decided to dispense with Graeme’s services the moment he referred to football being a ‘man’s game’. Remember? He used that phrase after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw v Spurs in August,’ Keys added.

READ MORE: Sky Sports will be a very different place without incomparable Stelling and important Souness

‘His comments caused a bit of a stir. He was clumsy in his phraseology. He didn’t mean harm, but you can’t say that anymore. Football is simply a game – enjoyed by everyone. And we should celebrate that.

‘I think most people felt that Graeme had been clumsy and he’s a much-loved character, so they were happy to give him the benefit of the doubt – but senior management at Sky certainly weren’t. They decided that was it. He’d be out at the first opportunity.

‘Two things will happen now. Sky will deny this and the mole will be making frantic calls trying to cover his tracks – but I will be proved right because Graeme is by no means finished. He will turn up somewhere – ITV perhaps – because he’s a classy operator and remains box office.

‘Having revealed the truth now if I was Martin Tyler I’d be looking over my shoulder after what were described as his ‘racist comments’ about Son Heung-min recently. Again – I’d say Martin was simply clumsy, but you can be sure the incident is on file somewhere at Gillette Corner. And I think I know who the Guardian of that file will be – the same person that did for Graeme.’

READ MORE: Top 10 bitter player versus pundit feuds, including only time Neville ‘went too far’