Bite on Mascherano no more than mischief says Defoe

Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe yesterday played down his bite on West Ham's Javier Mascherano as just a funny way of reacting to being fouled.

"This has been blown out of all proportion. When the West Ham player fouled me I reacted in a bit of a mischievous way, my character is a little like that at times," Defoe said.

Defoe bit Mascherano's arm while both were on the ground after the Argentine had brought him down from behind during Spurs' 1-0 home win in the league on Sunday.

"The referee was standing right over me and if he felt I had done anything bad he would have sent me off," Defoe, who was booked along with Mascherano, said.

"The incident doesn't look great on TV and I accept that as a role model to kids I have a responsibility to conduct myself in the right way which I always try to do on and off the pitch," the England striker said.

There was a mass bout of shoving among the players after the incident and Britain's Sports Minister Richard Caborn urged the FA yesterday to look into it.

"Any action like this I hope the authorities will decide on. Players in these positions have a great responsibility," Caborn said.

An FA spokesman said that since the referee had booked Defoe they would only take further action if they regarded it as a very serious offence.

The incident occurred shortly before Mido's winner. West Ham manager Alan Pardew said he had not seen Defoe bite his player but if he did he should have been sent off.

Tottenham's Martin Jol described Defoe's action as a "nibble".