An accusation often levelled against “the media,” however you might define it, is that Harry Kane is regularly given an easy ride because of his status as England captain. It is not true, really. Kane is often praised, yes. But that is because he often plays well. And because he scores lots of goals, for club and country, which is his job.
In fact, and in opposition to those theorists who believe in a deep-rooted pro-Kane conspiracy, there are days when his status as England’s most recognisable footballer works against him in the court of public opinion. One of those days came on Monday, when Tottenham Hotspur travelled to Everton and Kane found himself at the centre of the incident which led to Abdoulaye Doucouré’s red card.
If you haven’t seen it, this is how the events unfolded: Kane fouls Demarai Gray, and is then tackled by Doucouré. Kane and Doucouré clash angrily, until Doucouré throws out a left hand. Doucouré’s fingers make contact with Kane’s face, and the Spurs striker falls to the ground, his hands covering his eyes.
Was it an exaggerated reaction? Absolutely. Was it embarrassing for a player of Kane’s stature and physical power to be tumbling to the turf? Of course it was. But is there one Premier League player who would have reacted any differently to such an incident? Almost certainly not. And if a player did fail to take advantage of such a swipe, you can be sure their manager would have been furious about it.
Within seconds, the debate had begun — and many people appeared to be pointing the finger at Kane for his reaction (see below). Would there have been the same response from the watching public if, say, his Spurs team-mate Clément Lenglet had gone down like that? Would there have been the same outpouring of discontent if it was Pedro Porro on the ground? It seems unlikely. It is a back-page story because it is Kane, and because of who Kane is.
The issue here is not Kane. It is football. The sport has reached the point where even relatively minor contact to the face has become an instant red-card offence. If more common sense was applied, as is the case in other sports where physical contact takes place between emotionally-charged athletes, referees would feel able to tell everyone off for being silly, show a yellow card and move on. Instead, theatrics are rewarded.
A proper punch to the face, or any other form of genuinely violent conduct, is clearly different, but there are grey areas in every aspect of football and there should be an acknowledgement within the game that not all slaps are equal.
It speaks volumes of the situation that Sean Dyche, the Everton manager, and Michael Keane, the Everton defender, both thought it was an obvious dismissal. “That was definitely a red card,” admitted Keane. “It is a red card, because he [Doucouré] raised his hands,” said Dyche. “We know that. That is the way it goes.”
