Most of Africa think that Lineker dived to get two pens vs Cameroon in the World Cup 1990. Quite possibly did but who cares.
And who cares if Harry manufactures a pen vs France in the euro final.
It's particularly bizarre from ex-pros, who have spent their careers trying to gain an advantage over their opponents every time they step onto a football pitch. Whether that's trying to get a player carded, to claiming a throw-in or corner when it came off them last. It doesn't matter if they are defenders or attackers, just as much shit goes on in a tackle as there is when an attacker is looking for a pen, by ensuring when they get to their feet they tread on the oppo accidentally, or when they land they twist their body to make sure they land on top, with a pointed elbow out for good measure.
It's why I love many of our South American friends who are absolutely open about the game and correctly see this side of the game as part of the game, which it absolutely is.
It's up to the ref to not get conned, VAR is as we now know not there to overturn a decision, so I find it even more staggering why a ref before giving a pen doesn't go over to a monitor to be sure of his decision. Everything is there available to him to prevent a player from conning him. No one likes to be conned, it makes you look like a mug, so imagine having a device at your disposal that prevents this from ever happening to you and you don't use it!!!!
All of this of course isn't the case with this Kane pen yesterday, it's a clear pen, nothing cute or clever about it, it's a blatant foul, but here again before awarding it why not have the ref review a monitor, so he can "sell it" to the TV audience (oh and why not have the monitors next to the gaol instead of the fucking halfway line just to speed it up a bit!!)