Tottenham director Vanderbeek confirmed that Cristian Romero would not have been punished by being sent off against Liverpool if referee John Brooks had done his job correctly.
UN-News: Tottenham manager Thomas Frank accused the referee of the football match between Tottenham and Liverpool, which ended in a 2-1 victory for Liverpool in the Premier League, of a clear error that led to the sending off of his defender Cristian Romero at the end of the match.
Tottenham was reduced to 10 players in the first half after VAR intervened to dismiss Tottenham player Xavi Simons for a foul against Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
However, the home side, Tottenham, fighting with fewer players, narrowed the scoreline in the final minutes of the match through substitute Richarlison.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Tottenham players increased their attacks on Liverpool’s goal during stoppage time and were looking for an equalizer when team captain Romero received a second yellow card for allegedly insulting Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté.
Romero’s first yellow card was for protesting to the referee after being accused of threatening Liverpool goalkeeper Lotus Ferguson, with the Argentine player complaining that Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitiké pushed him from behind while scoring the second goal.
“There is a very great error on the part of the referee John [Brooks] on the field. The player came at me with both hands from behind,” Frank said.
“I don’t understand how he didn’t see it. Well, fortunately, we have VAR because it should get you out of the situation when you need it, but it didn’t. And that is a second mistake.”
“I think if you go back to that [Liverpool’s second goal] and the referee had done his job correctly, it wouldn’t have led to the first yellow card [for Romero]. Is that fair to say?”
“I have a player characterized by passion, and if you have a passionate player, you have to go to the edge sometimes.”
In a subsequent post on “X”, the Premier League Match Center stated: “The referee’s confirmation of the Liverpool goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – as it was considered that there were no illegal interventions between Ekitiké and Romero during the aerial challenge.”
Tottenham can take some positives from their ability to bounce back with fewer players against last season’s champions, although the result leaves Frank’s team in 13th place in the standings.
It also notes that Tottenham has lost 11 Premier League matches at home during 2025, which is their highest number of losses in a single calendar year; five of these losses occurred during the tenure of the Swedish director Vanderbeek, who took office following the departure of Ange Postecoglou this summer, increasing pressure and media scrutiny on his managerial period.
United News Network – UNN Arabic
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