Cristian Romero, the talented defender for Tottenham Hotspur, will unfortunately have to sit out for the next four games. This comes after his recent sending off in his team's 2-0 loss to Manchester United. It's been a tough few weeks for Romero, as he also made headlines for criticizing the board on social media after a 2-2 draw with Manchester City. But it was his behavior on the field that caught everyone's attention during the match at Old Trafford.
With the score at 0-0, Romero seemed to lose his composure and recklessly lunged at Casemiro with his studs up, causing the Brazilian to fall in pain. The referee, Michael Oliver, didn't hesitate to show Romero a red card, leaving Spurs with only 10 players for the remaining 60 minutes of the game. This is not the first time Romero has been sent off, as it marks his sixth red card in just 152 appearances for the London team. It's also his second suspension this season, as he was previously banned for four matches and fined £50,000 for a second bookable offense in a game against Liverpool in December.
Unfortunately, this latest suspension will now be extended to four games due to it being his second sending off of the season. This means he will miss some important upcoming matches against Newcastle, Arsenal, Fulham, and Crystal Palace. But if he's fit, he may make his return in a highly-anticipated match against Liverpool on March 15 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Former England and Spurs goalkeeper, Joe Hart, commented on Romero's tackle, saying, "In the blindside, he sees Casemiro coming in aggressively and you just know that Romero has got that switch. He doesn't need to do that, there's no need to go in like he has. He's still going to win that ball almost with a side-foot and he just smashes him. You fear for Casemiro at the time and he's done well to recover from that."
Romero's rash challenge resulted in United taking advantage of their one-man advantage and scoring a goal just nine minutes later. This means that Thomas Frank, the manager of Tottenham's next opponent, will have to prepare without the World Cup winner for their next four Premier League matches.
Owen Hargreaves, a former player for Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and England, also commented on Romero's tackle, saying, "He knows [it was a poor challenge] and that's why he apologized to Casemiro. He didn't need to stay on him...he could have tackled him and come away, but he decided to stay on him. Tottenham, up until that point, were quite even with Manchester United but there's no need for that."
Hargreaves also mentioned Romero's record of six red cards in just three-and-a-half seasons with Spurs, saying, "It's just too many. There's no need. He's a good player, he likes a tackle, he enjoys it, but there's no need. When you're getting red cards that are costing your team, there's nothing positive about it whatsoever."
It's clear that Romero's reckless behavior has had a negative impact on his team, and it's something he will need to work on in the future. As for now, Tottenham will have to do without him for the next four games, but they will surely be eager to have him back on the field as soon as possible.
