Harry Kane scored a 22nd League goal of the season in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Monday, leaving him on course for his best return in years, but his involvement in the game’s big flashpoint generated far more attention.
Kane was struck in the face by Abdoulaye Doucoure following a robust 50-50 between the pair and the Everton midfielder was promptly shown a straight red card. Kane went to ground clutching his face and lay there while Doucoure was deservedly sent packing.
A close-up replay showed Doucoure, palm splayed and index finger over Kane’s closed eye, gripping his face, which was visibly sore afterwards.
Somewhat predictably, however, the reaction has focused more on Kane’s response than the behaviour of Doucoure.
Kane was labelled ‘a disgrace’ and ‘embarrassing’, accused of ‘milking’ the incident and widely painted as a bad actor. Pundit Jamie Carragher criticised Kane for “rolling around when there’s nothing wrong with him” — although Kane did not actually do any rolling.
The end result of the match was even pinned on Kane for firing up the Goodison Park crowd with his ‘antics’ (true, to an extent), rather than the visiting team collectively for a pathetic 20 minutes before Michael Keane’s 90th-minute equaliser.
Afterwards, Spurs’s head coach Cristian Stellini was essentially asked to defend Kane’s actions, which he did.
There has been far less coverage of Doucoure lashing out in a way that should really have cost his struggling team dearly, nor talk of an extended ban, despite Mousa Dembele being hit with a six-game suspension for a similar assault on Diego Costa in 2016.
Admittedly, Kane’s reaction was theatrical but it was consistent with the way the overwhelming majority of players in the Premier League would have responded.
Like it or not, professional footballers are conditioned to go down when they feel contact from the neck up, in the most part to help persuade the referee to make an advantageous decision for their team.
If Kane had not gone down and Doucoure had somehow escaped punishment, there would inevitably have been talk about the Spurs forward lacking the elite mentality and gamesmanship needed at this level. The advent of VAR means there is less need for theatrics and, hopefully, over time, a positive consequence of the technology will be more players staying on their feet in the confidence that the correct decision will be reached regardless.
That is still a way off, so Kane’s reaction on Monday should have been totally unsurprising to everyone.
If it had been Oliver Skipp or Clement Lenglet, the incident would have surely been seen as a cut-and-dried case of Doucoure’s idiocy, but instead it is another example of Kane being held to dramatically different standards, and oddly vilified.
For all he has done for England and in the Premier League, the 29-year-old remains a curiously unloved figure and, in many cases, actively disliked.
A survey last year found Kane was the fifth-most abused player on social media and he often attracts negative attention for everything from his hunger for goals to his ability to win fouls and even the way he talks.
This abuse is at odds with the view of all Kane’s team-mates and managers, and many opponents, who regard him as the ultimate professional.
The reaction to Kane’s England record was another example of him being judged to fundamentally higher standards than others, with the milestone greeted by many with bleating about its worth.
Penalties should not count, you see. Nor should goals against smaller nations. There was even a debate about Kane’s worthiness to surpass Wayne Rooney, despite him having already done far more in an England shirt than his predecessor as captain, who was widely regarded to have underwhelmed for the national team.
Perhaps, as England skipper and such a model professional in practically every way, Kane deserves more scrutiny than the average player.
Maybe these high standards are the price he must pay for the records and acclaim he does receive — even if he arguably deserves far more in the way of individual accolades.
Or maybe there is something about his un-showy personality or the fact he has played out his entire career for Spurs without much controversy that simply inspires dislike and scrutiny.
Whatever the case, Kane was clearly the wronged rather than in the wrong at Goodison Park and, overall, he deserves more credit and respect.
