Spurs forward Harry Kane ‘disappointed’ with reaction to his Stoke City goal appeal

The 24-year-old insisted he touched Christian Eriksen’s free kick and was later awarded the goal after an appeal was lodged

Mauricio Pochettino says Harry Kane has been surprised and disappointed by the reaction to his desire to claim Tottenham Hotspur’s second goal at Stoke, and the Spurs manager believes his striker will “learn a lot” from the episode.

The Lilywhites’ winner at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday was initially awarded to Christian Eriksen, but Kane insisted the goal was his, stating after the match: “I swear on my daughter’s life that I touched the ball.”

He and Tottenham went on to appeal to the Premier League, and the strike has since been given to Kane, taking his tally to 25 goals for the season in the top flight and leaving him four behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.

The situation has attracted plenty of attention. Salah tweeted “Wooooooow really?” when the decision was announced, and Leicester forward Jamie Vardy also expressed his surprise on social media, while ex-Spurs player Mido stated the club had made a “big mistake” in appealing and that Kane “shouldn’t have said anything.”

Fans of rival clubs have also poked fun at Kane’s desire to take a goal from a team-mate, and Pochettino said: “Of course he never thought that this situation was going to go on to such big things when he was so certain that he touched the ball.

“It’s normal that he was a little bit disappointed because of course Harry Kane and all of our players have Twitter, Instagram, everything, and a lot of people… It’s sure Tottenham fans will back Harry Kane but other fans kill him. People have opinions but that is normal.

“He’s disappointed because he never wanted to create this. Sometimes for you it’s a small or simple thing and they become bigger and bigger and you cannot stop it. That was what happened. I think he is going to learn a lot from this.”

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