'Don't speak about Kane!' - Mourinho defends star amid cheating claims

Jose Mourinho fiercely defended Harry Kane from the backlash of his controversial penalty in Tottenham’s victory over Brighton.

Mourinho has fired back at claims Kane was ‘clever’ and ‘streetwise’ in the way he won a crucial penalty in Tottenham’s 2-1 win against Brighton last Sunday.

A VAR review overturned the referee’s decision to award Spurs a free-kick in the favor of a penalty instead after Kane collided with Brighton midfielder Adam Lallana, while the scoreline was still goalless.

Plenty has been said about the decision, but the most controversial opinion was probably from Danny Murphy.

The former Spurs midfielder accused Kane and his fellow Premier League forwards, Mohamed Salah and Callum Wilson, of ‘cheating’ by ‘manipulating the referee’.

"Speak about these penalties where you see the clever guy… when somebody comes and blows, they fall on the floor." 🌬️

Jose Mourinho has launched a fierce defence of #THFC striker Harry Kane following suggestions the striker was "clever" in winning a penalty against #BHAFC.

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 4, 2020

“You are confused because you could be speaking about some Manchester United players, you could be speaking about some Manchester City players, you could be speaking about some Liverpool players, you could be speaking about some Chelsea players,” said Mourinho as quoted by Sky Sports.

“And you are speaking about Harry Kane? Who was in a position to control the ball in a dangerous position and Lallana comes with a very reckless action and committed a foul.

“Why are you speaking about being clever or not being clever? Being clever is to hold the ball, and shoot and score. It was a foul.”

The Spurs boss added: “Why are you speaking about us? Speak about Liverpool, speak about Manchester City, speak about Manchester United.

“Speak about these penalties where you see the clever guy… when somebody comes and blows, they fall on the floor.

“Don’t speak about Harry Kane.”