Abdoulaye Doucouré was given a straight red card during Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Everton on Monday night.
The Mali international left referee David Coote with no choice when he raised his hands into the face of Harry Kane. One moment of madness was all it took.
Tension ratcheted up within a matter of seconds when Kane followed through on his tackle on Demarai Gray, with Doucouré getting caught in the cross-fire.
He and Kane then got entangled, both of them drawing a boot at the loose ball before Doucouré, as the red mist descended, raised his hands into Kane’s face.
The Englishman went down, the whole of Goodison Park drew a sharp breath – everyone knew what was coming next.
Sean Dyche protested, the Everton bench protested and Doucouré protested but it was all in vain. Coote had the red card out of his breast pocket quicker than you could say boo.
For their part, Everton weren’t happy with the English captain for what they deemed a theatrical response to the clash.
Sean Dyche shouted over at him as he lay on the turf before captain Seamus Coleman made a beeline, from the other side of the pitch, to where his stricken Spurs’ opponent lay.
The Donegal man crouched down beside Kane and started shouting in his ear, as you can see in the footage below.
A moment of MADNESS from Abdoulaye Doucouré and Everton are down to ten men! 😲🟥 pic.twitter.com/dwQ81QxQ3O
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 3, 2023
Things went from bad to worse for Everton moments later when Michael Keane clumsily gave away a penalty, which Kane dispatched with typical class.
The smart money would have been on Spurs, a man up, to close it out from there but as if to try and prove their old manager Antonio Conte right – Conte had question their mentality before leaving the club – they sat back and invited Everton onto them.
Spurs were punished right at the death then when, with a bolt from the blue, Michael Keane became their unlikely hero.
The English centre back scored a stunning long-ranger to level the game up just seconds after being taken out of it by Spurs sub Lucas Moura, who only lasted five minutes before getting a red card of his own.
After the game, Dyche was more accepting of the referee’s decision, though still critical of Harry Kane.
“You can’t raise your hands, simple as that,” the Toffees boss told reporters.
“I couldn’t understand why Harry [Kane] went for the challenge because the referee has blown the whistle for [the foul on] Demarai Gray, so it ends up making a moment out of something that wouldn’t have been a moment.”
Coleman hadn’t forgiven Kane though, and as the Sky Sports cameras focused in on him at the final whistle, there he was again, seemingly not accepting Kane’s account of the incident.
Harry Kane appears to be explaining the red card to Pickford & Coleman at full-time 👀 pic.twitter.com/SdzpJZnbSC
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 3, 2023
Related links:
- Evan Ferguson linked with Manchester United
- The Roy Keane selfie story that shows he is a softy at heart
- Gary Neville goes full Rafa Benitez in ‘best ever PL full back’ debate on Twitter
