Cristian Romero, who escaped red card for horror tackle, branded ‘crazy, crazy and scary’

Cristian Romero was branded “crazy” and “crazy” after his horrific tackle on Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson and somehow escaped a red card following a Var review during Tottenham Hotspur’s impressive performance.

With Spurs leading 3-0 and in complete control against Newcastle, the centre-back took off with the spikes and caught Wilson by the top of his boot and shin guard. It looked like an obvious red card offense but referee Chris Kavanagh only showed a yellow card and was told not to take another look at the incident by Var Peter Bankes.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said after the challenge that he was “relieved that Wilson got back to his feet”. He added: “I never like players being sent off, but this seemed over-the-top and reckless to me. Your heart is always a little bit in your mouth when one of your players goes down like that.”

As always, the Newcastle manager was calm and diplomatic, even after a heavy defeat; despite fights between players following the match and bad blood caused by goalkeeper Guglilemo Vicario provoking Wilson late in the game.

But it was Romero’s challenge that angered the experts. Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “He’s furious, to be honest. Absolutely crazy. At first glance I think it’s a red card. He’s crazy, Romero. Always has to struggle. It doesn’t occur to him to slow down the players.

“For me it’s a red. I have little sympathy for him. It went straight over the ball to his ankle. Vulnerable.”

This view was shared by my colleague Jamie Redknapp, who added: “Terrible. Some will say he cares, but it will cost his team. He can play, he plays the ball well technically, he reads the game well. But he always makes hasty decisions. He’s now vice-captain so he needs to set a good example.

The story continues

“You can’t keep doing that. Red card all day long. I don’t think he will learn. He sees red and goes for it. Some players you can’t tame. He has aggression in him and that makes him the player he is.

“Every time I watch him I think he will either score a goal or cost his team with a red card.”

Even former Spurs defender Michael Dawson condemned the tackle; This risked Romero’s second sending-off of the season and the fifth of his Spurs career, following his red card against Chelsea just four games ago. “He’s playing on the sidelines. I thought it was stupid.

“You didn’t need to go into this challenge because you were 3-0 up and on cruise control. You just got back from detention and there was no real sting in the game.

“He’s just coming out on top. When Chris Kavanagh got the yellow card I thought they were going to Var. If he had been sent off it would have been four games. He’s a very good player but it doesn’t do any good if you’re going to be sent off all the time.”

There was little need for Spurs to lose their heads late on, given their preponderance of victories, but Wilson was also angered by Vicario’s behaviour.

He said: “There is a way to win. We saw this in the week Everton won and [Jordan] Pickford was causing trouble.

“The goalkeeper has taken a header, he’s starting to sulk and make a fuss and that’s a lack of respect, I thought. “I said my peace, we are grown men and we continue on our way.”

Comment: Romero lucky to avoid red card – these dangerous tackles should be illegal

Just when I was thinking about it Referee Chris Kavanagh was on point in Tottenham’s win over Newcastle, while Spurs’ Cristian Romero’s tearful challenge on Callum Wilson only resulted in a yellow card.

The Argentinian quickly attacked his opponent and threatened the Newcastle United player’s safety. The law is very clear that a player must be sent off if he exceeds the required strength and endangers the safety of his opponent.

The number of players missing from the game due to injury is increasing and the lenient view that referees currently take towards such challenges should be illegal.

The whole idea of ​​the video assistant referee is to look again and see that the awarding of the yellow card meets the criteria for a clear and obvious error.

Why didn’t Var – Peter Bankes – send Kavanagh to the pitchside monitor for that precious second look in this match? If he had done that I’m sure he would have been shown a red card

Bankes, who officiated the Manchester United-Bournemouth game on Saturday, had a bank screen in front of him at Stockley Park on Sunday to witness the foul play. Did fatigue factor into this bad decision?

It’s not the first time Romero has violated the rules. He had already received a red card in the match against Chelsea this season. Last season he received 15 yellow cards, received two double yellow cards and was sent off. He’s a serial offender, and to say he’s a lucky kid to have stayed on the field would be an understatement.

This last frenetic moment should have resulted in a red card but it didn’t, just as Luton’s Jacob Brown launched a two-legged challenge on Manchester City’s Phil Foden earlier in the day.

While Howard Webb, chairman of Professional Match Officials Limited, emphasized the dissent must obviously ensure that these red card challenges are resolved and dealt with correctly.