They're at it again- Graeme Souness has laid into Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba after the Frenchman's challenge on Wolves midfielder Rúben Neves in The Red Devils' 1-0 win at Molineux this evening.
The tackle came in the build up to United's winner, with Pogba clipping the Wolves midfielder just above his ankle before the ball found its way to Mason Greenwood, who fired low and hard to give the visitors a win on the road.
Wolves fans were unhappy that Mike Dean did not disallow the goal for Pogba's tackle, booing the referee as he left the pitch at full time.
Souness was equally unforgiving.
"That could have been a leg breaker," he claimed after the game. "I was guilty of some daft things and some cruel things. That is a classic case of looking to do someone. I'm not saying Paul Pogba meant to do it but that's how it ended up looking.
You have to say Neves has been naïve in kicking the ball as hard when someone's coming at him on the ground like that. He's nowhere near the ball in the end. How does the referee not deem that a foul?
For me, it's more than worrying. It's alarming when a so-called senior, good referee doesn't see that as a foul."
Roy Keane, another guest in the Sky Sports studio for the match, agreed with Souness and felt the goal shouldn't have stood.
"A lot of these tackles come from a bad touch," Keane explained. "Pogba's taken a bad touch there. There's an element of frustration and he's chasing after it. But I think Neves could have been a bit smarter. We're quick to criticise foreign players but he's been too honest. (If that tackle) was a little bit higher, he could have been in trouble."
There has been plenty of talk since the Premier League returned three weeks ago about the physicality of matches, with United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp critical of certain teams' conduct at the start of the season.
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But former Tottenham and Wolves striker Robbie Keane says it's the job of the referees to ensure a balance of physicality and fair play is maintained.
"Next time, he'll go down now," Keane replied when asked about the Neves incident. "He's going to learn from that. He was too honest.
At the same time, we don't want players to be rolling around and falling all over the place. That's where the referee needs to come in. It's definitely a foul."
United's win takes them to 3rd in the Premier League table, whilst Wolves remain winless and fall into the relegation zone.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester United, Pogba, Premier League, Wolves
