Sean Dyche reckons he knew the football world had gone mad when Harry Kane was given a concussion test for a “broken eyelash”.
The Everton boss joked that he was concerned for the Spurs captain when physios carried out the head injury protocol - following a brush in the face by the finger of Abdoulaye Doucoure - explaining: “I was worried, I thought ‘wow, this could be a close one’!”
But his humour conveyed a wider message over the state of the sport, with Dyche suggesting that many fans are being put off the game, because of the constant ‘gamesmanship’ and ‘cheating’.
Doucoure was sent off for touching Kane’s face, while later in the showdown between the two clubs, Lucas Moura was also dismissed for a dangerous lunge on Everton’s Michael Keane.
And Dyche said: “The strange thing about football rules and the governing bodies is that you have a player who, in theory, is very close to getting a broken ankle and nothing is said, and another gets a broken eyelash and it’s like the world is going to end.
“I’ve been saying for years that there is an undercurrent of fans who are like; ‘Oh come on, really?’ and just want to get on with the game, but everyone has become so precious haven’t they? The rules are so precious, in society as well as football.”
The Blues boss was at pains to point out that Kane is “a great professional”, and wasn’t cheating, but merely pushing the gamesmanship when he went down so easily after Doucoure’s poke.
But he did pointedly add: “Just to be clear I’m not talking about individuals here. I don’t think for one second that Moura meant it but he could have hurt Keane. Equally, and this isn’t particularly about Harry Kane, if someone touches you in the face now, you go down.
“I know I joked about it but it is worrying to me when I see the physio concussion testing him after that. Really? Come on. And that’s not about being a football manager, it’s just being human.
“I thought at one point he might have snapped his eyelash, which would have been tragic. But it seemed to be responding ok.”
