Ex-FIFA official: Harry Kane is gaining a ‘reputation’ as ‘really poor’ Tottenham footage emerges
Keith Hackett has lamented the “very poor” decision which saw Tottenham star Harry Kane denied a penalty during the 2-2 draw against Brentford on Boxing Day.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee suggested the 29-year-old’s “reputation” should not have had a bearing on the decision.
As seen in footage from the Amazon Prime Video Sport Twitter account (26 December), Kane appeared to be impeded by Brentford defender Ben Mee – who had an arm wrapped around the England captain as he hit the floor.
Referee David Coote waved away Kane’s appeals and a VAR review found no clear and obvious error.
The game ended 2-2 despite Brentford taking a two-goal lead with strikes from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg hit back in a six-minute period in the second half to rescue a point for Tottenham away from home.
Hackett told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “We saw this with Maguire at the World Cup.
“A defender cannot put his arms around the attacker. He illegally stops the progress of Kane, and it’s a nailed-on penalty kick.
“Kane does have a reputation, but it’s a penalty.
“I thought it was a really poor decision.
“I was expecting VAR to come in and help David Coote, who I thought had generally quite a good game.
“It came at a really important and influential point in the game.
“In the re-training of referees, which will happen over the next month, they’ve got decide how far they’re going to go with this lighter touch.
“It doesn’t mean you can rugby tackle strikers in the box.”
In other news, expert fears Tottenham will fall behind rivals after “very worrying” update.