During Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville had differing views on Harry Kane’s involvement in Abdoulaye Doucoure’s sending off at Goodison Park, as Everton salvaged a 1-1 draw against Tottenham with a late Michael Keane goal, writes the Daily Mail.
Kane had put Spurs ahead from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, and was also involved in the first of two red cards shown in the game when Doucoure was dismissed for shoving him in the face. Kane’s reaction to the contact led to accusations of exaggeration and gamesmanship, with Everton fans chanting “cheat” towards him. This incident sparked controversy on social media as well.
During Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville disagreed over Harry Kane’s role in Abdoulaye Doucoure’s sending off at Goodison Park. Tottenham took the lead through Kane’s penalty, and he was involved in Doucoure’s red card for shoving him in the face.
Carragher criticized Kane for his dramatic reaction, describing it as ’embarrassing’, while Neville defended Kane’s action and said that Doucoure’s contact could have shocked Kane. Neville acknowledged that Kane should not have gone to the ground, but he argued that Doucoure’s action still warranted a red card.
Carragher insisted that the issue was not about the red card, but rather Kane’s simulation, and he maintained that putting your hand in someone’s face is a red-card offense.
‘Doucoure is wrong and I am sure [Sean] Dyche will tell him that, but I wouldn’t go down there as a player. There is no way near enough to let you go down.
‘If I done that on a pitch I’d be embarrassed and if I watched my son do that, yeah it might help his team win if the opposition are down to 10 men and it gives them an advantage, but when he got back in the car I would say, “what are you doing? Don’t ever do that again on a football pitch.’
According to Neville, Kane’s decision to fall to the ground provided his team with a significant advantage in their pursuit of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
‘I am a lot nicer than i was 15 years ago,’ he said. ‘If Harry Kane stands up there, we are talking about Champions League football, if he stands up that might have been a yellow because it is deemed as a hand-off.
‘Harry has gone down, whether he should have or not, it is to make sure Doucoure got sent off.
‘It is a part of the game people don’t like but in our dressing room, if my forward [does that] we are there to win leagues, win games.
‘You might call it cheating but you can’t put your hand in someone’s eye with your clasp like that.’