Cristian Romero faces having Tottenham captaincy stripped as he ‘heaps more pressure on Thomas Frank’
Cristian Romero has come under fire after being sent off for Tottenham at Manchester United.
Despite having an underwhelming season, Tottenham earned a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Manchester City last Sunday, lifting spirits ahead of a trip to Old Trafford.
Spurs have had the Red Devils’ number in recent meetings, the highlight of which was Tottenham’s Europa League final win over United last May.
However, hopes of extending their six-game unbeaten league run against United received a big blow when captain Romero was sent off for Tottenham in the 29th minute for a poor foul on Casemiro on Saturday.
Days after saying it was “disgraceful” that Tottenham only had 11 fit senior players to call on for the City game, due to their injury crisis, the Argentine has been heavily criticised for his dismissal in Spurs’ eventual 2-0 loss.
Henry Winter labels Cristian Romero a ‘disgrace’ after ‘crazy’ Tottenham red card
Hot on the heels of Romero’s ill-judged foul on Casemiro just before the half-hour mark, Thomas Frank‘s former Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo put United ahead.
Whatever game plan Tottenham had might have been thrown out of the window off the back of Romero’s rash actions, as they toiled in Manchester.
Pundit Paul Merson tore into Tottenham star Romero for his sending off and now journalist Henry Winter has turned his ire towards the 27-year-old.
Winter wrote on X: “Disgraceful – to borrow one of Romero’s words from one of his recent outbursts. Romero on Casemiro, Argentina on Brazil, always an edge and that is a ridiculous, dangerous follow-through deserving of the straight red.
“Can he remain captain in the future? Once again Romero lets down team-mates, fans and manager. Heaps more pressure on Thomas Frank. Crazy from their captain.”
Tottenham sit 14th in the Premier League, just nine points above the relegation zone, ahead of the rest of Saturday’s matches.
Had it not been for their impressive run in the Champions League this season, Tottenham might have sacked summer appointee Frank.
And if West Ham beat Burnley on Saturday, Spurs will be just six points above the bottom three and the alarm bells will start ringing again for Frank.
Romero costs Tottenham dearly in crucial Man Utd game
With his sending off, Romero created some unwanted history. He became the first Argentine to be sent off for a foul on a Brazilian in a Premier League match since December 2016 (Sergio Aguero on David Luiz).
Moreover, since making his Tottenham debut in August 2021, Romero has been sent off six times in all competitions, more than any other Premier League player during this period.
But prior to his dismissal for the Casemiro foul, Romero wasn’t playing too badly. According to Sofascore, he completed 92 per cent of his passes, successfully made a block and a tackle, and won two of his four duels.
But all of that was undone with his reckless foul on the United midfielder.
And to rub more salt into Tottenham’s open wounds, United captain Bruno Fernandes made it 2-0 in the 81st minute to send the home fans wild. Romero only has himself to blame.