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Kane faced backlash for his role in sending off Abdoulaye Doucoure in Monday’s 1-1 draw against Everton.

Doucoure put his hand in the face of England captain Kane, whose overreaction ridiculed him on social media and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said he would be “embarrassed” if he played the striker.

Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy echoed Carragher’s sentiments on talkSPORT.

But ahead of sixth-placed Brighton’s visit on Saturday, Stellini said: “I think it’s strange that some former players have said some things that I think are wrong about Harry.

“They are former players and they understand the difference between seeing a situation like this in slow motion and living this experience in real time. It’s completely different.

“Everton manager (Sean Dyche) said it’s a clear red card so there’s no discussion on this. I don’t understand why any player talked about this.

“I think they disagree with Tottenham, rather than disagree with Harry. I think they respect Harry, but they probably don’t respect Tottenham enough.”

Kane scored his 24th goal of the season at Goodison Park as he was booed and called cheating.

“I have never seen him exaggerate anything,” Stellini insisted.

“I’ve seen him get to his feet after a strong tackle and we have plenty of examples. We also spoke to the umpires board (earlier this season) about some of the tackles Harry took are really bad.

“Also in the first half of the last game there was a strong challenge from a central defender, but we don’t discuss this and Harry doesn’t discuss this.

“He is an incredible player in all aspects, also in the behavior he has and the respect he has. He respects the game a lot. This is important to say and everyone must understand that they cannot challenge Harry on this aspect.”

Kane will have the responsibility of scoring the goals for fifth-placed Tottenham this weekend against Brighton with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski both out of form, while Richarlison remains sidelined with a muscle problem.

He is back in individual training and could be back for the clash with Bournemouth on April 15, but for now Stellini will rely on Arnaut Danjuma and a few academy graduates.

The Italian identified young attackers Alfie Devine and Romaine Mundle with Brazilian striker Lucas Moura set to start a three-match suspension for his red card in a 1-1 draw at Everton.

Stellini added: “We are closing in on Richarlison. He trained on the grass but he trained alone. For the next game he could be available.

“Yes, if we need them (young players), we will use them. We have some good players who are ready to play, also in the Premier League.

“We have Alfie Devine, Romaine Mundle, we have players we trust to play a part of the game or a game in the Premier League.”