Kane ok
Harry Kane free to play in North London derby after escaping FA charge for head clash with Azpilicueta
Ref Andre Marriner said he saw the flashpoint so no further action will be taken against striker
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HARRY KANE has been cleared to play in the North London derby following his altercation with Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta last night.
The Spurs striker and England skipper had an anxious wait to see if there would be any action over the clash of heads in the 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
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Kane faced a potential three-match ban for violent conduct if he had been ruled to have butted the Chelsea man, which would have ruled him out of the Wembley game with Arsenal and the forthcoming Premier League trips to Southampton and Liverpool.
But referee Andre Marriner, who was around ten yards from the incident, told the FA that he had seen the clash and deemed it was not worthy of any action at the time.
That ended the possibility of Kane - who was later booked for a separate incident with David Luiz - being sanctioned under FA regulations.
Had Marriner said he had not witnessed the clash, it would have been referred to the panel of three ex-referees to determine if it was a red card offence.
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The news will be a relief for Kane and Spurs.
They desperately need to get their season back on track after successive defeats to Burnley and Chelsea have put their seemingly certain top four place under real threat.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino said of Kane: "I think he's so competitive on the pitch. We were frustrated, we want to win, we show our character.
"Things that happen that we don't know because it's impossible from outside the pitch to see what is going on inside. But that is football."
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Pochettino himself is waiting to hear from the FA over his punishment for an improper conduct charge following his side's defeat to Burnley last weekend.
Arsenal fans have already started ramping up the atmosphere after chanting "Tottenham Hotspur, we're coming for you" during the 5-1 hammering of Bournemouth last night.
Spurs host Unai Emery's side in the early-kick off on Saturday.
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