Ex-PGMOL chief shares if Guimaraes faces Newcastle ban for Romero throat grab
Son Heung-min said an emotional goodbye in front of his South Korean supporters as Tottenham drew 1-1 with Newcastle United.
Son was substituted on the 64th minute with the game 1-1 and received a standing ovation in the Seoul World Cup stadium from supporters, players and staff.
The South Korean announced he would be departing the club this summer before the game, and despite not getting on the scoresheet, was greeted as if he had scored a hat-trick.
The game wasn’t all positive, though, as Bruno Guimaraes and Cristian Romero got into a nasty squabble, while James Maddison sustained a serious-looking injury late on.
Tottenham News presents the exclusive opinion of former Premier League and FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett.
Guimaraes gets away without a booking for grabbing Romero’s throat
Tottenham’s pre-season has been fruitful so far, as they beat Arsenal and Reading and drew with Luton.
The Lilywhites have only made one major addition this summer in Mohammed Kudus, but have looked better all across the pitch.
Kudus was again lively in a feisty affair between Newcastle and Tottenham.
In the 40th minute, Romero and Guimaraes got into a disagreement, which saw the Newcastle midfielder grab the Argentine by the throat, albeit only for less than a second.
Ex-referee Keith Hackett– speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – was amazed that Guimaraes didn’t receive a yellow card for the incident.
“The minimum sanction for this clear offence is a yellow card to Guimaraes for adopting an aggressive manner,” Hackett said.
“It is disappointing that the referee failed to take any action. If the player had held his opponent for a longer period, I would have said the card colour changes from yellow to red.”
Asked if Guimaraes could face retrospective action, would could mean a ban for the start of the new Premier League season, Hackett said: “Because this is a borderline one, there is not likely to be any further intervention.”
Romero incident won’t mar a solid send off for Son
Despite the incident, Spurs supporters won’t look back in anger and will instead remember the game for being such a special send-off for Son.
| Competition | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Premier League | 333 | 127 | 77 |
| FA Cup | 30 | 14 | 12 |
| Carabao Cup | 20 | 5 | 2 |
| Champions League | 39 | 16 | 2 |
| Europa League | 28 | 10 | 7 |
| Conference League | 4 | 1 | 1 |
It will be difficult for Spurs to ever replace the fan favourite, but they must now look forward to the 2025/26 campaign and ensure that they have the plans in place to cover for Son.
One thing is for sure, no matter how next season plays out, Son will always be welcomed back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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