There was a period when it looked like Cristian Romero had changed. This was, of course, the triumph of hope over experience.
The captain’s 29th-minute red card for a rash challenge on Casemiro teed up Tottenham’s demise in the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United. The facts do not make pleasant reading:
- It was Romero’s sixth red card for Spurs in 152 appearances – roughly one dismissal every 25 games
- Will serve a third suspension of the season
- Has the most bookings in the Premier League for 2025-26
- No player in the top flight has been sent off as many times since his debut in 2021
- Closing in on another ban for accumulated cards
Those numbers matter all the more so because his sending off came at the end of a week when the Argentina international had publicly called out the board’s January transfer activity.
Why Spurs have a Romero problem
After Spurs made just two additions, Souza and Conor Gallagher, Romero said they had been left with so few players it was “unbelievable” and “disgraceful”. Weeks earlier, after the 3-2 loss at Bournemouth, he accused the club’s hierarchy of “lies”.
RED CARD FOR SPURS CAPTAIN CRISTIAN ROMERO!
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 7, 2026@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/TjHJete992
It is not a simple matter of disciplining Romero. As one Tottenham insider put it, “it’s almost like he runs the club”, such is his influence in the dressing room. The i Paper was told several other players privately backed him over his contentious social media posts, and he escaped a fine for his post-Bournemouth outburst. Thomas Frank declined to say whether any action had been taken this week.
The recent comments went down well with a huge number of fans, who believed the captain was showing leadership by speaking out. In the early stages at Old Trafford, they serenaded him with a chant of “Romero’s right, the board are s***e”.
But with less than half an hour on the clock he not only lost his footing, worse still he lost the moral high ground. He let his teammates and manager down. Sympathy with Frank is usually in short supply among the supporters but this was one defeat he surely won’t be blamed for.
My mistake about the Tottenham captain
Romero’s head-loss might seem a familiar story. I have always argued to the contrary – that his reputation preceded him, and that he regularly seemed to attract unfair bookings because he is seen as volatile and tempestuous.
That he should not be seen as a rebellious liability, when he is Tottenham’s second-joint top scorer this season and has rescued them on countless occasions at both ends of the pitch.
This, however, was inexcusable. His colleagues valiantly tried to stay in the game for 80 minutes. Whether the rules are applied consistently, and Diogo Dalot got away with a similar challenge on Jeremy Doku at this ground a matter of weeks ago, is irrelevant.
These are the games the centre-back will miss, including a crucial north London derby:
- Newcastle (h)
- Arsenal (h)
- Fulham (a)
- Crystal Palace (a)
And this at a time when Tottenham are in genuine danger of being dragged into a relegation battle. The trip to a resurgent United would have been difficult enough with 11 men – more so when Bryan Mbeumo was left free on the edge of the box to slot in from a corner. It was glaring obvious that Spurs were a man short.
Radu Dragusin, still recovering from long-term injury, was thrown on and Wilson Odobert, one of Frank’s best hopes of a goal, came off.
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Whatever promises Romero may have been made in the summer when he chose to stay in spite of interest from Spain, he also assumed the captaincy from Son Heung-min. With that, came a new level of responsibility.
The irony is that as the World Cup winner in the camp, he is exactly the sort of player the recruitment team are looking to bring in. They are deliberately targeting ambitious leaders with pedigree – some of those targets did not come off in January. It was valid for players to be disappointed.
For Romero to voice that so openly, it requires a degree of credibility and authority – something he chucked away with another moment of madness at Old Trafford.
from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/8RwoZm4
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