Why Cristian Romero will miss four games after record-equalling red card in Man Utd vs. Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero will be slapped with a four-game suspension for his red card in Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester United, in which he equalled an unwanted record.

The Argentine held his place in the first XI at Old Trafford despite his recent explosive outburst towards the Tottenham hierarchy on social media.

Romero hit out at the "unbelievable" and "disgraceful" Tottenham squad shortages after transfer deadline day, but head coach Thomas Frank insisted that the matter had been dealt with internally.

The World Cup winner was therefore trusted to marshal his backline at the Theatre of Dreams, but his race was run midway through the first half, when he caught Casemiro with a crunching tackle.

Referee Michael Oliver did not hesitate to brandish the red card for serious foul play, which would normally carry a three-game ban, but Romero is set to serve an additional match suspension.

Watch Cristian Romero's record-equalling red card in Spurs vs. Man Utd

RED CARD FOR SPURS CAPTAIN CRISTIAN ROMERO! ?@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/TjHJete992
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 7, 2026

The former Atalanta BC and Juventus man has now received two red cards in the 2025-26 Premier League season, having been dismissed for two bookable offences in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in December.

Having been sent off twice, Romero will be forced to miss Tottenham's next four domestic matches, starting with the visit of Newcastle United to North London on Tuesday night.

The Argentina international will then crucially miss the visit of rivals Arsenal on February 22, as well as Fulham (A) on March 1 and Crystal Palace (H) on March 5 on account of his sixth Tottenham red card.

Four of those dismissals have come in the top flight, meaning that Romero has equalled the record for the most Spurs red cards in the Premier League, jointly held by Younes Kaboul.

The defender will not return to domestic action until March 22 - against Nottingham Forest - but he will be eligible to feature in the last 16 of the Champions League across March 10-11 and 17-18.

Should Spurs sell Cristian Romero after red card?

The timing of Romero's latest red card could not be more amusing if you are a rival fan, or more disastrous if you are in any way affiliated with Tottenham Hotspur.

The Argentine has always and will continue to divide opinion among the Lilywhites fanbase, as ever since arriving in England, he has combined perpetual indiscipline with heroics at both end of the field.

Romero has - quite remarkably - registered double figures for goal involvements this season, scoring six of his own and setting up four more, but he has allegedly decided that he wants out this summer.

Now at the peak of his powers at 27 years old, Romero will seemingly not change his aggressive ways at this stage of his career, nor is it likely to be coached out of him.

Spurs chiefs must now weigh up whether Romero's pros outweigh his red-card cons, but unless the defender makes a concerted effort to leave this summer, Frank surely cannot fathom letting his leader leave.