Cristian Romero was sent off at half-time in Tottenham’s match against Manchester City on Sunday, leaving Thomas Frank’s side already on the edge of their seats.
Cristian Romero has shattered the Spurs hierarchy once again (Image: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero branded his team’s lack of depth a “disgrace” after his recent absence. On Sunday, Spurs drew 2-2 at home with Manchester City and achieved a dramatic come-from-behind victory, but the 27-year-old Romero was substituted at half-time.
The Argentine defender had been suffering from illness for several days and was unable to continue playing. Instead of bringing him on as a substitute, manager Thomas Frank brought on midfielder Pape Matar Sarr in the second half and readjusted the set-up.
The only centre-back allowed on Frank’s bench was 17-year-old Junai Byfield. Spurs picked up a valuable point, but Romero was frustrated by his lack of options and was set to take aim at the club’s pecking order for the second time in a month.
In a fiery social media post shared just 43 minutes after the transfer window closed on Monday, the centre-back wrote: “A great effort from all my team-mates yesterday, they were unbelievable. Especially since we only had 11 players available, I wanted to help them even if I wasn’t fit. Unbelievable but true and shameful.”
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“We will continue to show up, take responsibility for turning this situation around, work hard and continue to stick together. All that remains is to thank all the fans who were there and always supported us.”
Tottenham only signed one player on deadline day, bringing in Hearts striker James Wilson on loan. Spurs have a long injury list, including Pedro Polo, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, Mohamed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison.
Romero’s rant comes less than four weeks after he attacked his controversial bosses following Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat away to Bournemouth. The Argentina international posted again on Instagram, insisting that “other people” should come out to speak publicly, adding that they “only appear when things are going well and tell some lies.”
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Romero, who later edited his post, went on to say, “At times like this, other people should speak up, but they don’t. It’s been going on for years. They only show up when things are going well.
“We’re going to stay here, work, come 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 move forward together.”
Frank and Tottenham’s co-sporting director Johan Lange spoke to Romero about the post. The Spurs manager went on to confirm that Romero will not be stripped of his captaincy and will not be fined. “He’s our captain, but he hasn’t been fined,” Frank said.
“It’s an internal thing, but we haven’t done that. I think there are many ways to deal with different situations. We talked with him a lot, understood his position and chose to deal with it internally. That’s all I want to say.”
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