Cristian Romero has told Sky Sports he reacted poorly during Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at West Ham United when Pablo Fornals feigned injury to try and win a free-kick last week.
The Hammers beat Spurs 1-0 at the London Stadium thanks to a goal from Michail Antonio in the 72nd-minute. Poking home Aaron Cresswell’s delivery to punish their London rivals after spurning a wealth of chances to find the net.
West Ham’s win moved David Moyes’ side into fourth-place, while Tottenham fell one spot to sixth and trail by two-points. Romero produced a mostly impressive performance as the Argentine marked his fifth Premier League appearance and fourth start so far.
But Romero soured his game at West Ham when the Tottenham ace sparked an altercation with Fornals in the 58th-minute. The Irons midfielder did well to skip past two tackles from Emerson Royal by the corner flag, before Spurs’ centre-back stepped in to win possession.
Romero went through the back of Fornals to reach the ball, sending the 25-year-old to the ground. Tottenham’s summer signing reacted angrily to Fornals feigning injury as he stood over the Spaniard. Sparking a small argument as players from both sides rushed over.
Romero admits mistake for West Ham, Fornals incident
Referee Paul Tierney showed Romero a yellow card for the Tottenham defender’s incident with West Ham’s Fornals. The on-loan centre-back from Atalanta now admits he reacted poorly after the Spaniard stayed on the ground following his challenge.
“Unfortunately, that happened with Pablo,” Romero said. “I’ve met him before once when we were at an airport and he’s an excellent guy. What happened the other day wasn’t his fault and I reacted in a bad way.
“These are the kind of things which happen in the heat of battle. You do anything to fight for your team, but he’s a good guy.”
Romero, who Tottenham have a £47m option to buy, has received two yellow cards over his five Premier League appearances. Referee Ruddy Buquet also cautioned the 23-year-old during Spurs’ Europa Conference League second-leg qualifier with Pacos de Ferreira.
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