Cristian Romero hit with suspension as FA punish Tottenham star over Liverpool incident

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Cristian Romero has been slapped with a one-match ban after his conduct towards the match official 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.

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"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.