A prolonged disqualification might be imposed on Cristian Romero following an accusation by English football’s governing body, the Football Association, for not exiting the pitch promptly and displaying “aggressive” conduct after receiving a red card during the match against Liverpool last Saturday.
The leader of Tottenham Hotspur was issued a subsequent caution for striking out at Ibrahima Konate, a defender for Liverpool, preceding his dismissal from the game by official John Brooks in their 2-1 loss.
Romero’s ejection reduced the Spurs squad to merely nine players, given that Xavi Simons had previously been issued a red card for egregious misconduct in the initial half of the game.
The Argentine central defender, Romero, initially incurred a caution for expressing disagreement, protesting about being shoved by Hugo Ekitike as the forward netted Liverpool’s second goal.
Consequentially, Romero’s red card results in a mandatory one-game suspension, rendering him unavailable for the upcoming Sunday fixture against fellow London club Crystal Palace.
However, he is now confronting further sanctions, potentially a more extensive suspension should he be found culpable. He is given until January 2nd to formally address the accusation made on Wednesday.
The Spurs contingent is scheduled to journey to Brentford on January 1st, subsequently welcoming Sunderland to their home ground on January 4th, and then visiting Bournemouth three days thence.
An official communication from the FA stated: “Assertions indicate that he (Romero) conducted himself inappropriately by not immediately exiting the playing area and/or adopting a confrontational and/or belligerent posture towards the game official after his dismissal in the 93rd minute.”
Romero commenced the match having already accumulated seven yellow cards in the Premier League for the current season, prompting Tottenham’s head coach, Thomas Frank, to criticize Brooks for dereliction of duty by ordering the defender off the pitch.
“A colossal error was committed by John during play,” Frank asserted.
“Ekitike had both hands on his back. I cannot fathom how that was overlooked. Fortunately, we possess VAR to rectify such situations when necessary, but it failed to do so. That constituted the subsequent error.”
The Danish manager further remarked: “My conviction is that if one revisits that incident (Liverpool’s second goal) and the official had performed his duties correctly, then a primary caution (for Romero) would have been avoided. Would that be an equitable assessment?”
“I manage an athlete who possesses immense fervor, and when dealing with such an individual, it is sometimes necessary to push boundaries.”
The loss positioned Spurs at an unimpressive 14th place in the league standings, intensifying the scrutiny on Frank, who assumed control following Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal in June.
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