HARRY KANE has been slammed despite being struck in the face by Abdoulaye Doucoure last night.
The Tottenham striker was involved in a fiery flashpoint during his side’s 1-1 draw at Everton.
As Kane went to push Doucoure away in the 58th minute, the midfielder raised his hands to him.
The Toffees star appeared to dig his fingers into Spurs’ No10’s eyes – with Kane subsequently falling dramatically to the ground.
Doucoure was immediately shown a red card as Kane lay in a heap, much to the fury of Everton fans.
Despite the clear nature of the dismissal, it was the Tottenham man that drew the most ire from former Spur Danny Murphy.
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While commentating on talkSPORT, Murphy said: “Not enough to send him on the floor, Kane’s embarrassing himself.
“Why’s he gone over like that stitching someone up? Doucoure would’ve been sent off anyway.
“A little flick to the face does not send you the ground like you’ve just been punched… but Doucoure’s an idiot. He knows the rules, he’s let his team down.
“For Kane to go down like this is embarrassing… if my kids played like that I’d apologise and probably need to sit in a dark room with a cold flannel on my face.”
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Jason Cundy disagreed, however, claiming that Kane was well within his rights to go down.
He said: “I’m no Spurs fan, but let me tell you any Everton fan that phones here wanting to have a pop at Kane, make sure you point your finger in the right direction first and have a pop at Doucoure.
“Whatever you think Kane did after that, Doucoure – idiot! You raise your arm, you put your fist or your hand or palm in a player’s face they’re going to go down.
“Kane, as far as I’m concerned, has done nothing wrong. That’s what 99 per cent of what other footballers would do, ‘Can I gain a numerical advantage over him being an idiot?’
“He’s brought it to the referee’s attention, that’s all he’s done… Doucoure’s the idiot, highlight him being an idiot.”
Kane opened the scoring just ten minutes after Doucoure’s red card, netting from the penalty spot despite Jordan Pickford’s distraction attempts, after Michael Keane fouled Cristian Romero in the box.
Spurs struggled to manage the game thereafter, however, and were under the cosh when substitute Lucas Moura was sent off on 88 minutes for a reckless challenge on Keane.
The centre-back would go on to dust himself down and have the final say, lashing a superb shot beyond Hugo Lloris in the 90th minute.
After the match, Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher debated the first red card incident.
Oh my god, how can that not be in his eye?
Gary Neville
Neville, 48, defended Kane – while Carragher, 45, was more scathing.
The former said: “Oh my god, how can that not be in his eye? You can see one finger in one eye and one’s in the other.”
But Carragher added: “Harry Kane shouldn’t be going down for that. It can still be a red card for putting your hand in someone’s face, Doucoure is wrong. But I wouldn’t go down there as a player, there’s nowhere near enough to make you go down.
‘YOU WERE A HORRIBLE DEFENDER’
“The thing I really don’t like is players trying to get fellow professionals booked or sent off. I’ve got no problem with someone going down, winning a free-kick, jumping back up and getting on their feet.”
But Neville hit back said: “I feel like you’re re-writing history here. You were a horrible defender who used every single dark art that was available, you appealed for every decision more than anybody else that ever played, and if your striker’s went down you’d want him sent off [Doucoure].
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“Now you’re talking as a pundit with a suit on.”
Neville then finished by adding: “On a serious note, as a player, if we’re going in our dressing room’s we’re going ‘Harry, well done’.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
