Paul Merson has written in The Daily Star that Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho was right to defend Harry Kane.
The former Arsenal star, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, believes that the challenge on Kane from Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Adam Lallana was a foul.
In the opening minutes of the Premeir League game between Tottenham and Brighton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday, the England international striker was adjudged to have been brought down by Lallana.
Mourinho launched a strong defence of the striker in midweek, as quoted in The Guardian, and Merson has given his take on his comments.
The Guardian quoted Mourinho as saying: “Harry Kane win a penalty? Perhaps you’re speaking about players at other clubs, and they do it and they do it so well, but for sure you’re not speaking about Harry Kane. Harry Kane was in a position to control the ball in a dangerous position and Lallana comes in, a very dangerous action, and commits a foul. Lallana was reckless. He made a mistake.”
Merson wrote in The Daily Star: “Harry Kane wasn’t cheating to win a penalty against Brighton. He was just being cute. I’m not having that what he did was dangerous play at all.
“Jose Mourinho was right to defend him because centre forwards do that all the time, and if you do that on the halfway line, from a goal kick, you win the free kick.
“What Kane did isn’t cheating. But diving is. And it should be punished because it’s getting worse. If I stood next to you on the street and kicked your foot, you wouldn’t fall over, would you?
“So why do strikers think it’s okay to do it on a football pitch? Look at Mo Salah. Referees need to show more common sense because it seems like every time someone gets touched in the box they can go down for a pen.”
Moving on
It was a debatable decision from the officials regarding the challenge on Kane from Lallana, but it happened last weekend.
Tottenham and Brighton must move on now, as there are likely to be many such controversial decisions in the Premier League in the coming weeks and months.
This is the nature of game (with VAR), and football players, managers and fans have got to just live with it for now.
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