Matters grew a little tense between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night. Early on in the second half, with the game knotted up in a 0-0 tie, Harry Kane and Abdoulaye Doucouré got into a little scuffle over a loose ball.
After Doucouré took exception to a Kane kick, Kane would accidentally grab hold of Doucouré’s jersey. The Everton midfielder did not appreciate this and took a swipe at Kane’s face, who then fell to the ground. In almost all cases, this would be a deserved red card and probably was here, too.
You can’t be out here unofficially taking swipes and fighting players in the middle of a game, you know?
Abdoulaye Doucoure is sent off for hitting Harry Kane.
Do you agree with the call?#MyPLMorning | #EVETOT pic.twitter.com/8mjHwrwQZV
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 3, 2023
But Everton manager Sean Dyche was parked right in front of the incident. And when asked about his reaction to Doucouré’s red card Thursday, Dyche had a sarcastic roast of what he clearly felt was embellishment from Kane:
Sean Dyche with an acerbic reflection on Abdoulaye Doucoure’s red card.
“I thought at one point he (Harry Kane) might have snapped an eyelash, which would have been tragic. Abdoulaye certainly didn’t have to speak to the group to say anything.”— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) April 6, 2023
PHEW! The note about Doucouré not having to apologize for leaving his team shorthanded aside … you can’t really “snap” an eyelash. In case it wasn’t obvious, Dyche is laying heavy on the sarcasm, even if the final result was a 1-1 draw.
Everton won’t meet Tottenham again until next season. We’ll have to shelve the next chapter in this story. If there is one.