- Gary Neville has claimed Cristian Romero’s red card was the right call
- He was sent off for a ‘wild’ challenge during Tottenham’s match vs Chelsea
- CHRIS SUTTON: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is a CLOWN – It’s All Kicking Off
Gary Neville claims he has ‘no sympathy’ for Cristian Romero after the Tottenham defender was sent off for a ‘wild’ challenge on Enzo Fernandez during his side’s heated clash against Chelsea, with the Sky Pundit claiming ‘he knows what he’s doing’.
The Sky Sports pundit also branded the defender a ‘lucky boy’ after he had kicked out at Levi Colwill just moments before the red card, with a VAR review deciding that his kick out was not worthy of a red card.
After Spurs had taken the lead with Dejan Kulusevski putting the hosts 1-0 up, Romero lunged in on Enzo Fernandez with his studs up inside the penalty area, catching the midfielder on the shin in a nasty challenge, before referee Michael Oliver showed him a red card for the tackle and a penalty.
Cole Palmer scored from the resulting spot-kick to level the scores, but Neville, who was on punditry, slammed the Spurs defender for his moment of madness.
‘Oh no Romero, you, you, you.. This is mayhem,’ the former Manchester United defender told Sky Sports.
‘That is a penalty. He plays the ball but no idea why he follows through like he does. Mad challenge.
‘He doesn’t have to put his studs into Fernandez’ shin. In trouble with fact that it’s high. If you go back to Curtis Jones a few weeks ago that I thought was harsh, this one is a lot worse. Trust me as a defender that is not a natural follow-through.
‘Definite penalty but it’s whether it is a red. It’s red. He could have gone earlier, no sympathy for him, he makes wild challenges, passionate and fiery but he knows what he is doing and it’s the wildest of challenges. Tottenham fans are going crazy.’
Before the sending off, Raheem Sterling had appeared to score an equaliser, weaving his way into the Spurs box before firing past Guglielmo Vicario.
The goal was ruled with VAR going back to check Romero’s kick-out on Colwill in the build up.
Speaking on the incident, Neville said: ‘Raheem Sterling scored but a lot going on 80 yards down the pitch, Romero is on the ground and kicked back of Colwill.
‘I think Romero is going to go. It hits his hand, comes back and hits it, that isn’t going to count. I do think Romero is in trouble at the other end. They might lose a goal but Spurs might lose a man.
‘Because Sterling is goalscorer that goal will be disallowed. If he had whereabouts to square it he would have got away with it. Spurs fans cheering but wont be in a minute I suspect, let’s see what happens with Romero.’
Destiny Udogi could have also received a red card, after he lunged in on Sterling in the opening 20 minutes.
Following a VAR review, the officials deemed his challenge not meeting the severity of a red card, with Oliver awarding him a yellow.
But Neville disagreed with that decision, stating: ‘Udogi should be off that is 100 per cent, Romero is a lucky boy, when you normally do that kick out oat someone without the ball near you ordinarily go off, reminded me exactly of David Beckham. Should go back and VAR that one in 1998.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
