Cristian Romero incident shocks as Tottenham star given surprise reprieve
Cristian Romero wrongly escaped being sent off in Tottenham’s weekend victory over Brentford, according to Dermot Gallagher.
Tottenham beat Brentford 2-0 on Saturday to ease pressure on Thomas Frank against his former side, and finally record another win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Xavi Simons overcame his struggles since signing for Spurs to be instrumental vs the Bees, with an assist for Richarlison and a wonderful solo goal.
But captain Romero, fresh from scoring twice in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle, almost made the day much more uncomfortable mid-way through the first half, yet escaped with a booking.
Dermot Gallagher expected Romero red card
Romero scythed down Igor Thiago from behind with a scissors-style tackle during the first half of the Tottenham win, but was only shown a yellow card by Rob Jones.
Former PGMOL boss Keith Hackett told Tottenham Hotspur News it was close but Romero only deserved the booking.
However, speaking on Sky Sports Ref Watch, Gallagher disagreed, while ex-England forward Jay Bothroyd also bemused that the challenge was punished more heavily.
Gallagher said: “I think this is a red card. I expected a red card. He comes in at speed. He can never win that ball because Thiago has put himself in between.”
Bothroyd then added: “Definitely a red card. He’s lunged, left the floor, it’s a two-footed challenge from behind. What else does he have to do to get a red card? You can’t tackle from behind let alone lunge.”
- Read More: Yves Bissouma will never play in Premier League again as Tottenham investigation underway
New injuries for Frank vs Slavia Prague
Having wrested some momentum together off the back of a miserable November Frank and his men absolutely have to keep building on it in a winnable home game against Slavia Prague next up.
A home game in the Champions League could be the ideal occasion to continue breeding new-found confidence, which was arguably started almost single-handedly by Romero at St. James Park last week.
He might have been the most likely to throw it away with his rash challenge back in North London at the weekend, but escaped.
And Frank is facing new selection issues with Brennan Johnson and Destiny Udogie both missing training ahead of the Tuesday European fixture, so the Dane may have to switch things around to keep the run going.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest Tottenham Hotspur news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @tottenhamnews247