Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has been handed a one-match suspension for an accident that occurred late in the team’s 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Cristian Romero faces a new suspension at Tottenham this season (Image: (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images))
Cristian Romero has been handed a one-match ban for his behavior towards the match official in the final seconds of Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 loss to Liverpool last month. The Spurs captain was deemed to have “misbehaved” with referee John Brooks after being shown a second yellow card in stoppage time.
He has already missed one game due to the red card itself, and also missed Spurs’ 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at the end of December. Romero faces a further disciplinary action for his actions with the referee and will miss Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup third round tie against Aston Villa.
An FA spokesperson said in an official statement: “Cristian Romero has been sanctioned in connection with the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on Saturday, December 20, 2025.
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“Around the 93rd minute, he is alleged to have acted inappropriately, including failing to leave the field of play promptly and behaving in a confrontational and/or aggressive manner towards the referee.
Cristian Romero receives new suspension (Image: Photo by Harry Murphy – Danehouse/Getty Images)
“The defender has since admitted the charges and, following a hearing, the independent regulatory commission imposed a one-match suspension and a £50,000 fine. The regulatory commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course.”
This is another blow for Thomas Frank and his team after an eventful few weeks at Tottenham. After some strong results in his early days in charge, the new manager has struggled to unite his supporting fan base, with performances lacking sparkle or identity.
The team, who sit 14th in the Premier League table, have heard boos and chants from the stands in recent weeks. The infighting continued when Romero himself released a statement on Instagram, accusing some within the club of not helping the team and only speaking when it suited them.
“We apologize to all our fans who follow us everywhere, have always been there, and will always be there,” Romero wrote. “We are responsible, there is no doubt about that. I am the first.
“But we will continue to face this problem and continue to try to turn things around for ourselves and the club. Other people should speak up at times like this, but they don’t. That’s what’s been going on for the last few years. They only show up when things are going well.”
“We’re going to stay here, work, stick together and do everything we can to turn things around. Especially in times like this, it’s part of football to shut up, work hard and all move forward. If we all work together, it will get easier.”
This statement has been edited and previously read: “At times like this, other people should come out and speak out, but they don’t. That’s what’s been going on for the last few years. They only show up when things are going well and they just lie a little bit.”
Antoine Semenyo’s 95th-minute shot was the final blow for Frank, resulting in a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Bournemouth in midweek. It wasn’t helped by the Spurs manager’s gaffe about him downing an Arsenal cup before kick-off, which only fueled further discontent among the fanbase, although he later denied having any knowledge of how he ended up drinking a drink branded by his nearest rivals.
A cup appearance may help ease tensions around Tottenham, but Frank will have to overcome a difficult test at Aston Villa without the club captain. This only adds to the availability issues the Spurs have, with injuries rampant once again across the team.
Mohamed Kudus is one of the latest players to be injured due to a quad issue and is likely to be sidelined for some time. He is in the treatment room along with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogui, Lukas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur.
