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Jamie Carragher Gary Neville Monday Night Football. Pictures from Sky Sports.

Carra and Neville’s ridiculous ‘claw’ debate was MNF at its slapstick best

Ben Stewart •

Monday Night Football didn’t disappoint this week as Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville both passionately debated Abdoulaye Doucoure’s red card for Everton.

The incident itself was fairly bizarre. With the game finely balanced at 0-0, tempers flared between Doucoure and Harry Kane after they came to blows on the edge of the pitch.

The Frenchman put his hand in Kane’s face and that was deemed worthy of dismissal by referee David Coote. Sean Dyche was left fuming on the sidelines and then the real debate could be had in the Monday Night Football studio.

“There is no debate on red card at all,” Neville said. “Doucoure puts his hand up, the only debate is whether Harry Kane should go down.

“Harry Kane should never go to ground. But the only thing I’ve had before is when someone puts the clasp of their claw and it goes a little bit on your eye – it does shock you.”

Neville then hilariously demonstrates his point and reenacts the scene with Carragher. Almost like a scene from The Office between David Brent and Gareth Keenan, this one made us chuckle.

Neville rounded off his point by explaining his claw demonstration is “very different to a hand in the face.” Whichever side of the fence you’re on, we are already sure this debate will go down in MNF history.

Carragher offers up a differing opinion and explains: “I wouldn’t go down there as a player. There is no way near enough to let you go down.

“If I done that on a pitch I’d be embarrassed and if I watched my son do that, yeah it might help his team win if the opposition are down to 10 men and it gives them an advantage, but when he got back in the car I would say, ‘what are you doing? Don’t ever do that again on a football pitch.'”

The studio was clearly being filled with helium in the background as Neville’s voice got even squeakier with each point he was making.

Neville checkmated Carragher in the debate when he turned the tables around on the former Liverpool defender and claimed he would have done the same as Kane.

“I feel like you’re rewriting history here,” Neville added. “You were a horrible defender who used every single dark art that was available and wanted players in your team [to do the same.]

“You appealed for every decision more than anyone who has ever played and if your strikers went down, you’d want them sent off? You’d probably have a go at them if they didn’t.

“Now you are talking as a pundit with a suit on, it’s fine. But on a serious note, as a player if we go in those dressing rooms, we are going ‘Harry well done.'”

The game itself between Everton and Tottenham was by no means a classic, but the aftermath with Neville and Carragher was TV gold.

By Ben Stewart

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