Football
James Olley, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 2y

'Lasagne-gate' again? Tottenham deny food poisoning outbreak, Harry Kane set to overcome illness scare

Tottenham have denied there is a food poisoning outbreak ahead of their crucial match at Norwich City on Sunday, while Harry Kane is expected to overcome illness to feature in their Champions League decider.

Spurs will guarantee Champions League qualification with a win at relegated Norwich on Sunday, otherwise north London rivals Arsenal will look to pounce as they seek to overcome a two-point deficit by beating Everton.

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The situation evokes memories of 2006 when a depleted Spurs team were beaten by West Ham United on the final day of the season as several players fell ill following a lasagne dinner on the eve of the game, handing fourth place to Arsenal.

Former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker took to Twitter on Friday to claim: "Hearing there's a food poisoning outbreak at @SpursOfficial. No, I am not joking."

However, Spurs have rejected any suggestion of a widespread issue but Kane has pulled out of a scheduled media appearance on Friday evening after feeling unwell. At this stage, it is not thought to be COVID-19 related.

Speaking in a news conference on Friday ahead of the Premier League finale, Antonio Conte said he is confident Kane can feature on Sunday.

"Yes for sure, and because in the last game we had [Dejan] Kulusevski and he didn't train on Saturday but was good to play," he said. "Harry doesn't want to miss this type of game."

When asked the famous "Lasagne-gate" in 2006, Conte replied: "I don't want to know this story. I'm not interested to go deeper into this story.

"I think that we are in a good moment of form. We have worked well this week and prepared very well. We have to be concentrated."

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