Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Cristian Romero was lucky to escape a red card on Sunday, according to Dermot Gallagher.
The former Premier League referee was speaking on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch feature to highlight the weekend’s major talking points.
And perhaps the biggest was the pulling of Marc Cucurella’s hair by the Argentinian defender in the dying stages of Tottenham’s draw against Chelsea.
From a Spurs corner, the 24-year-old dragged the Spaniard to the ground by his hair and the incident went to VAR, with Mike Dean deciding that no further action should be taken.
But it was apparent Gallagher was left surprised by the decision and feels that had Anthony Taylor been sent to review the pitchside monitor, it would have been a certain red card.
He said: “The VAR, I think, has the perfect look, because when we saw the replay yesterday, as soon as I saw it, I actually said to the guy next to me, I said I think he’s gonna get a red card here.
“I anticipated the VAR sending Anthony [Taylor] to the screen. I know for a fact if Anthony had gone to the screen, it would have been a red card and a free kick to Chelsea.”
TIF Thoughts on Gallagher’s comments…
We have to agree with Gallagher on this one. We are incredibly surprised to see Romero get away with the pull on Cucurella’s hair given there was enough force to drag him to the floor.
Should Romero have been sent off for this?
Yes
No
There is certainly an argument to be made that the left-back got away with one himself with a stamp on the Argentinian in the early stages of the game.
However, Romero certainly plays his game right on the edge and put himself at risk of letting his side down massively with what could have resulted in a three-game ban.
And he has established himself as a significant member of Tottenham’s starting XI since arriving, but his discipline will definitely be a big concern for some at Spurs.