SHELVEY CAPTAINCY THREAT
Benitez claimed Kane’s challenge on Florian Lejeune was worse, yet the Spurs striker escaped with just a yellow card.
Former Newcastle boss Graeme Souness blamed Shelvey for the defeat as the game was goalless when he saw red.
Souness added: “He’s gone from captain to clown in the space of 10 seconds.” When asked if Shelvey would stay captain, Benitez said: “We will see in the future. It’s too early. He knows he’s made a mistake and apologised in the dressing room but still we lost.
“We made a mistake. But we will have to see, analyse everything. Now we have to move forward and think about solutions. I’d also like to say the tackle from behind from Harry Kane was worse. The rules are the rules, and we paid for that.” Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino (left) defended Kane and praised Alli for keeping his cool despite the stamp and rough treatment. Asked about Benitez’s claim, he said: “No, I think it’s different. It wasn’t the same as Shelvey and it’s not fair to say it deserved the same punishment.
“Dele was calm. It was important because if you remember last season we talked about that, how we need to behave, improve and learn.”