Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli caught up in yet another dive storm as boss Maurico Pochettino jumps to his defence
England international threw himself to the ground and claimed a penalty before Harry Kane went on to score the only goal of the match
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England international threw himself to the ground and claimed a penalty before Harry Kane went on to score the only goal of the match
DELE ALLI has yet again been caught up in a diving controversy.
The Tottenham midfielder went down easily after colliding with Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey in the 73rd minute.
But it looked as if Alli was already on the way down and was trying to con referee Kevin Friend into awarding a penalty.
Friend did not book the former MK Dons star but because a penalty was not awarded he will not face retrospective action.
Alli has already been booked twice for diving this season in the Huddersfield and Liverpool clashes.
But boss Mauricio Pochettino was quick to defend his player and thinks he has become and easy target.
Poch said: “He is an easy target for everyone. We need to stop saying too much about him to stop helping people, the fans, creating this reputation.
"He's so competitive and played very well today but Dele is an easy target.”
Palace boss Roy Hodgson also defended the England international saying his only option was to go to ground.
When asked if he thought it was a dive, he said: “No, not really. He only had the option to go down. The way our defenders defend the situation, he had to go down to avoid them. I don't think he was looking for a penalty.
"I'd like to see again the one where Sorloth gets through.
"That excited me more in terms of a penalty than the other one distressed me. That's what happens [crowd getting agitated with Alli] when there are concerted moments, not campaign, when all the talk in the massed media is about players diving, the public jump on the bandwagon to get as much advantage as they can.
"I'd advise Patrick not to square up to Dele Alli. My money would be on Dele Alli in that situation.”
He said: "Dele Alli has dived into him there. He's probably half a foot away from Wayne Hennessey when he's dived into him.
"Unfortunately for him, the storm around him diving will probably continue now."
Spurs were unfortunate not to win a legitimate penalty in the first half when Ben Davies was taken out by Hennessey.
Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness said: "He makes contact with him, it's a penalty."