Graeme Souness: From a sceptic to VAR supporter

By Liam Mackey

The World Cup in Russia has turned a sceptical Graeme Souness into an enthusiastic supporter of VAR.

“I wasn’t sure about it, but I am an advocate now,” he said in Dublin, yesterday. “We are an entertainment business. If you have a drink in your hand — pint of lager, orange or lemonade and peanuts — then you put them down when VAR starts.

“There’s a 45-second period when you’re on the edge of your seat. It adds to the excitement, a minute of ‘what’s going to happen here?’

“By and large, other than the Portugal versus Iran penalty, they’ve got it right. That was human error. He’s five yards from it in real time. It was never a penalty; it was down to him as an individual.

“Will VAR make the referee’s job easier? He gets the benefits of replays and slowing it down. He’ll be getting it right a lot more and we pundits will have less ammunition.

“It’s been a fabulous World Cup, so far. The first games are often dull affairs; ok, Spain-Portugal was an exception.

“But you can’t lose that first game; look at Germany, all the pressure went onto Wednesday’s game. There have been some fabulous games in the second and third games and VAR has helped.”

The TV3 pundit admitted that, at this stage of the competition, he finds it next to impossible to predict a winner.

“For Brazil to win it, Neymar has to get some form. You have to cut him some slack, as he’s coming back from injury, but he’s not really started yet. “Brazil have as good a chance as anyone, so do England and Belgium and Spain. But there is no-one jumping out saying they are the team to beat,” Souness said.

Meanwhile, Souness has significant reservations about one of the players tipped to be a star of the World Cup, France and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.

“My analysis of him is that he’s a young man who needs help,” he said. “You can go through his plusses — he’s got great athleticism and technique — but he doesn’t play the game in his head. A flick and a trick are more important than closing down an opponent to make him play a bad pass and intercept it.

“I think why Mourinho gets the hump is because he’s got the fast-forward gear going up the pitch and then the jogging gear coming back.

“For me, I think he is an impact substitute. You ain’t going to bring Paul Pogba onto the pitch if you are 1-0 up and you are looking to hold onto something. He is not disciplined.

“You bring him on when you are chasing the game. And you use his athleticism to get into the box. Maybe in two or three years’ time, he might develop into a holding midfield player, but I am not quite sure what he is at the moment.”

- Graeme Souness was speaking at the announcement that the TV3 Group’s three free-to-air channels are being rebranded as Virgin Media One, Virgin Media Two, and Virgin Media Three. A new sports channel, Virgin Media Sport, is also being launched.

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