Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has been embroiled in a diving storm after the Liverpool draw.
On the day Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane celebrated his 100th Premier League goal, he was drawn into the centre of diving controversy.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk hit out at the Spurs striker after the game, alleging Kane dived to win a penalty.
Van Dijk told SkySports: “I think it is a dive. You see him (Kane) diving clearly and no one is talking about it but I think it is a dive.”
Kane’s response
Harry Kane defended himself, quoted by TalkSport: “He (Karius) has dived, he got in the way and I’m a player, I’m not going to jump out of the way because it’s football.
“I definitely felt contact and I went down.”
Poor defence
Kane confirms there was contact from Karius, but that was not necessarily under dispute.
What is debatable is whether the contact was enough to naturally bring the prolific striker down.
‘Feeling contact’ as Kane describes, could be taken as an invitation to go down.
Simply being touched in the penalty area does not equate to a foul, and Van Dijk alleges Kane threw himself to the floor.
This part is not disputed by Harry Kane, who if he really wanted to mount a proper defence of his actions, should have said quite clearly than Karius knocked him off his feet, instead of receiving a touch – and then going down.
It appears he sensed an opportunity and he took it.
Liverpool fans are convinced that Kane threw himself to the ground and dived after the smallest of touches, and Kane’s comments really do not help his cause.
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