Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho delivered an impassioned defence of Harry Kane after the Spurs striker was accused of ‘cheating’ and ‘diving’ against Brighton.
Kane won and converted a penalty to put Tottenham ahead during the 2-1 victory, but many felt he bought the foul off Adam Lallana.
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Replays showed Kane glancing at Lallana, who only had eyes for the ball, and some have argued the striker was more interested in positioning himself under the Brighton man than making an honest challenge.
While most attention has been drawn to the Lallana incident, Kane was incredibly lucky to escape a booking in the second half for what appeared a clear dive in the Brighton box, too.
On a weekend when Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah also won a soft penalty, Danny Murphy branded the pair cheats on talkSPORT.
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“I don’t want to see it. They’re all doing it, they’re all cheating, they’re all manipulating the referee – you can use what word you want,” Murphy said.
But Mourinho isn’t having any of it, insisting Kane was the victim of a ‘reckless’ challenge from Lallana, while Tottenham’s rivals are more guilty of ‘clever’ play.
“Harry Kane was in a position to control the ball and Lallana came in a reckless fashion. Why are you saying it is clever?” Mourinho said.
“Clever is taking the ball and scoring a goal. It’s a foul.
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“I thought it was a direct free-kick but VAR said it was inside the box because it was on the line. What are we talking about being clever?
“Harry Kane just wants to score goals. Lallana was reckless.
“Why are you speaking about us? Speak about Liverpool, Manchester United, City and others with ‘clever’ players and getting penalties. Don’t speak about Harry Kane.”
Tottenham, meanwhile, will be without Sergio Reguilon, Erik Lamela and Serge Aurier for the Europa League trip to Ludogorets.
All three players were missing from training on Wednesday ahead of the journey to Bulgaria.
Mourinho said: “Reguilon is ill but not Covid, just ill. Lamela was having a little problem for quite a few weeks and we decided it was the time to stop. Aurier has a little problem, nothing important.”
Mourinho has said Spurs would be at “full power” for the game on Thursday night, hinting that star man Kane would start.
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