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Chris Sutton tears into Harry Kane during Tottenham clash at Everton
Harry Kane has been labelled embarrassing for the way he reacted to being struck in the face by Abdoulaye Doucoure during Tottenham Hotspur’s clash with Everton on Monday.
Chris Sutton has taken to to hit out at the Spurs talisman for staying down after being caught by the Everton midfielder in the second-half at Goodison Park.
The game was very much in the balance until Harry Kane gave away a free-kick on the halfway line for a foul on Demarai Gray. As Kane attempted to carry on, he got involved in a clash with Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Initially, the pair scrapped over the ball. However, there was soon some shoving, ending with Doucoure raising his hand into Kane’s face.
Sutton brands Kane embarrassing after Doucoure red card
The 29-year-old went down in a heap, and stayed down as the two teams got involved in a much more significant scuffle. Immediately, the referee produced the red card to send Doucoure off.
It is hard to have any complaints with the decision. Players know that they simply cannot raise their hands into the face of an opponent and expect to stay on the pitch.
But it seems that Chris Sutton felt that Kane had played a role in the Everton midfielder. Certainly, he did not appreciate the striker staying down as if he had been hit with much greater force…
Harry Kane staying down like that is embarrassing
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73)
Kane may have made the most of the contact. But he had every right to do so after Doucoure reacted the way he did.
In fairness, he did not roll around, screaming. He stayed down until the situation calmed down.
It is not nice to see. But it is a part of football. And had Kane not gone to ground, you would not have been entirely surprised to see Doucoure somehow avoid a red card.
Referees have set a standard where, if you do not go down inside the box when contact is made, you will not get a penalty.
And similarly with red cards, if a player does not make the most of the contact, officials often appear to feel that they have the option to not send a player off for a serious offence.
With that, describing Kane’s actions as embarrassing seems incredibly unfair.