Cristian Romero at centre of ‘unacceptable’ Tottenham incident as ex-FIFA official reacts to footage
Cristian Romero was fortunate not to have seen red in Tottenham’s draw with Brentford on Thursday.
Thomas Frank was booed at full-time as Spurs drew 0-0 with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, once again hampering the Lilywhites’ chances of a successful Premier League campaign.
Tottenham’s lack of attacking threat will once again come under the microscope as Frank’s side managed to test Brentford’s Caoimhin Kelleher on just two occasions.
Romero is known for his aggressive playstyle and is often penalised in matches for foul play.
However, the Argentina international was almost given his marching orders against the Bees for a slight misjudgement that former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett believes should have been a straight red card.
Keith Hackett speaks out on Cristian Romero incident
Romero found himself in a foot race with Brentford’s Igor Thiago in the second half of the Lilywhites’ clash with Frank’s former side, , with the latter almost through on goal.
The Spurs defender went diving in to try and prevent Thiago from a goal-scoring opportunity, but appeared to misjudge the flight of the ball, taking the Brazilian out.
- Romero was sent off in his last Tottenham game versus Liverpool
- Including his red card, the Argentine has picked up eight bookings this season in all competitions
- Thiago has 11 Premier League goals and could have netted the winner
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, ex-FIFA official Hackett shared his wealth of experience to detail why referee Andrew Madley and VAR should have decided to send Romero for an early shower.
Hackett said: “There’s no doubt in my mind that Romero has fouled Thiago. As a consequence, he should have been given a red card for the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
“The referee and VAR got this one 100 per cent incorrect. It’s unacceptable.”
A video of the controversial moment was captured and published online by an X user.
Frank may need to sit the 27-year-old down for a strong warning, as the Dane almost lost another game due to his centre-back’s reckless nature.
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Tottenham has one positive to build on from Brentford
Although dropping points to Brentford isn’t anywhere near good enough for Tottenham‘s standards, the reality is that Keith Andrews’ side are above Spurs in the league for a reason.
The Bees are fourth in the division for home form, and average two goals per game at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Spurs kept their attack at bay.
On paper, it doesn’t seem like a positive, but another solid defensive display is surely something for Frank to build on
Back-to-back clean sheets under Ange Postecoglou were rarely seen, but Frank has done this on five occasions already this campaign.
With the January window now open, the 52-year-old head coach may just need that extra bit of magic to bring Spurs’ attack to life.
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