Despite that clearly not being the case, speaking after Tottenham‘s 2-2 draw with Liverpool in which he should have seen red, Harry Kane claimed he “won the ball.”
Kane was involved in one of the major flashpoints in a controversial clash in north London, with referee Paul Tierney widely criticised for his performance.
Soon after putting Spurs 1-0 up, the striker launched himself into a dangerous challenge on Andy Robertson, catching the Scot with his studs up before being shown a yellow card.
Despite the availability of VAR, Tierney was not advised to alter his decision, and incredibly, The Athletic report that he has since defended himself by claiming it was not a red due to Robertson jumping out of danger.
It is a worrying level of delusion for a self-governed refereeing group that is effectively immune to punishment, and accusations of bias towards the England captain have been raised.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Kane insisted that he “definitely” did not feel he could be in trouble after his tackle, claiming that he “won the ball.”
“Obviously I haven’t seen it back, but when you’re playing against top sides and you’re fighting for points all over the place sometimes there’s going to be strong tackles,” he said.
“They’ve obviously checked it, it stays as a yellow card and we move on.”
Kane added: “Even Andy on the pitch said ‘you just caught my foot’ and didn’t think it was a foul.
“I think sometimes when you slow stuff down in football it makes it look worse than what it is, but that’s what VAR is there for.”
Speaking in his post-match press conference, however, Jurgen Klopp clearly did not feel the same way, explaining that if Robertson had not taken evasive action he could have left the field with a broken leg.
“That’s a clear, absolutely 100 percent red card,” he told reporters.
“Very often you cannot see it clearly or whatever, but this situation, if Andy Robertson‘s foot is still on the ground his leg is broken.
“I think we all agree on that, but luckily for both he was in the air. It’s still a red card, but the ref saw it differently.”
Fan Comments