Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool: Cristiano Romero would not have seen red if the referee had done his job – Thomas Frank

Cristian Romero could not be sent off TottenhamPremier League loss 2-1 to Liverpool Spurs manager Thomas Frank says if referee John Brooks “did his job” correctly.

Tottenham completed the match with ten players in the first half after the video assistant referee intervened after Xavi Simons was sent off for a foul on Virgil van Dijk.

But the hosts fought back and reduced the deficit late on through substitute Richarlison.

Despite being two men down, Tottenham were ahead in stoppage time and were gunning for an equalizer when their captain Romero received a second yellow card after a violent kick on Ibrahima Konate.

Romero’s first yellow card came for dissent following Liverpool’s second goal, as the Argentine felt Hugo Equitiki pushed him in the back while heading in a shot.

“There is a huge mistake made by John [Brooks] On the field. “Two hands on Ikitiki’s back,” Frank said.

“I don’t understand how he didn’t see that. Well. Fortunately we have VAR, so they’ll bail you out when you need it, which they didn’t. That was the second mistake.

“I think if I go back to that [second Liverpool goal] The referee did his job, so I think it could not have been the first warning [for Romero]. Is that fair to say?

“I have a very passionate player, and if you have a passionate player, you need to go to the goal line sometimes.”

In a post on X, the Premier League match hub,, external He said: “The referee’s call for Liverpool’s goal was verified and confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee, as it was deemed that there was normal contact during an aerial challenge between Ekitiki and Romero.”

Tottenham can take a number of positives from battling with a numerical disadvantage against last season’s champions, but the result leaves Frank’s side 13th in the table.

Tottenham’s 11 home league defeats in 2025 are also their most in a calendar year – and the fact that five of those defeats came under the Dane, who took over from Ange Postecoglou in the summer, will put greater scrutiny on his reign.