Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has been hit with a one-match ban following an incident in the closing stages of the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League
Cristian Romero has been slapped with a one-match ban after his conduct toward the match referee at the conclusion of Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 loss to Liverpool last month. After being shown a second yellow card during injury time, the Spurs skipper was deemed to have 'acted improperly' towards referee John Brooks.
He has already sat out of one game due to the red card itself, missing Spurs' 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the end of December. Romero has now faced further punishment for his treatment of the referee, meaning he'll be absent from Saturday afternoon's FA Cup third round tie against Aston Villa.
An official statement from an FA spokesperson reads: "Cristian Romero has been sanctioned in relation to the Premier League fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool on Saturday 20 December 2025.
"It was alleged that he acted improperly around the 93rd minute by failing to leave the field of play promptly and/or behaving in a confrontational and/or aggressive manner towards the referee.
"The defender subsequently admitted the charge, and an independent Regulatory Commission has now imposed a one-match suspension and £50,000 fine after a hearing. The Regulatory Commission's written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course."
It comes as another blow to Thomas Frank and his side after a rocky few weeks at Tottenham. After some positive results at the start of his tenure, the new manager has struggled to unite the fanbase behind him, with performances lacking some spark and identity to get behind.
Audible boos and chants against the club have been heard from the stands in recent weeks, as the side sit 14th in the Premier League table. The in-fighting continued when Romero himself put out a statement on Instagram slamming some within the club for not helping the team and only talking when convenient.
"Apologies to all fans of you who follow us everywhere, who are always there and will continue to be," Romero wrote. "We are responsible, there’s no doubt about that. I am the first.
"But we will keep facing up to it and trying to turn the situation around, for ourselves and for the club. At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don't - as has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well.
"We'll stay here, working, sticking together and giving our all to turn things around. Especially at times like this, keeping quiet, working harder and moving forward all together, is part of football. All together, it will be easier."
That statement had been edited, with it previously saying: "At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don't - as has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies."
That followed a frustrating 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth in midweek, as a 95th-minute Antoine Semenyo strike was the latest dagger for Frank to endure. That wasn't helped by a gaffe from the Spurs manager that saw him drinking out of an Arsenal cup before kick-off, only inciting more frustration from the fanbase - though he later denied having any knowledge of how he ended up with the drink branded by their nearest rivals.
A cup run could help calm tensions around Tottenham, but Frank will have to get past a tricky test in Aston Villa without his club captain. That only adds to the availability problems that Spurs have, with injuries once again running rampant throughout the squad.