According to former defender Gary Neville, the two red cards given to Tottenham in their 1-4 defeat to Chelsea in the 11th round of the Premier League were entirely justified.
"Oh, Romero, what chaos," Gary Neville exclaimed to Sky Sports after watching central defender Cristian Romero's studs-up tackle on his compatriot Enzo Fernandez in the 30th minute. "I don't understand why he had to go that crazy. It wasn't necessary to go all the way to Fernandez's shin. Romero should have been sent off earlier for kicking Colwill back. Nobody can sympathize with him when he likes to make wild, aggressive, but brutal tackles. Romero knows what he's doing."
On the right is the incident where Romero committed a malicious foul on Fernandez inside the penalty area in the 30th minute. On the left is Udogie's two-studded tackle on Sterling in the 19th minute . (Screenshot)
Three minutes before the incident Neville mentioned, Romero, while lying on the ground, kicked Levi Colwill hard in the calf, causing the defender to fall. Neville compared Romero's foul to what David Beckham did to Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup Round of 16. Back then, the England player received a direct red card, but this time the referees didn't penalize Romero. "Romero was lucky in that situation," Neville said. "You should go back in time and check VAR on Beckham's red card in 1998."
Romero seemed emboldened by not being booked and continued his sloppy play. Three minutes later, he lunged with his studs into Enzo Fernandez's shin inside the penalty area. Referee Michael Oliver, after consulting VAR, awarded a penalty to Chelsea and showed Romero a direct red card.
Referee Oliver showed Romero (number 17) a red card, sending him off in the match against Chelsea. Photo: Reuters
Romero's red card left Tottenham playing with ten men, and they conceded an equalizer from Cole Palmer's penalty. The home side lost control of the game and frequently risked setting up an offside trap to limit Chelsea's attacking options. But a failed offside trap led to another red card in the 55th minute. Raheem Sterling was quicker than Destiny Udogie, who tackled him and committed a foul. Referee Oliver showed Udogie a second yellow card, leaving Tottenham with only nine men on the pitch.
"It was stupid," Neville said about Udogie's second yellow card. "I enjoyed the first 10 minutes of the second half, but then I couldn't believe the madness that Postecoglou was witnessing. Udogie knew he had received a card, but he still went for the tackle. It's going to be a very long 35 minutes for Udogie and Romero in the dressing room."
According to Neville, Udogie was also lucky not to have been sent off earlier in the match against Chelsea. He referred to the incident in the 19th minute, when the 20-year-old full-back tackled with both studs, making contact with the ball but grazing Raheem Sterling's leg. Referee Oliver gave Udogie a yellow card, and VAR reviewed the incident but did not intervene. "Everyone hates that kind of tackle," Neville commented. "He could have broken Sterling's leg if the Chelsea player hadn't pulled his leg back in time."
The red card in the 55th minute marked Udogie's first career dismissal. Meanwhile, Romero had accumulated 23 yellow cards and four red cards in 75 appearances for Tottenham. The two red cards for this duo prevented Tottenham from holding onto a draw until the end of the match. They conceded three goals in the second half and suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season.
Udogie (center) received a red card in the 55th minute of the match against Chelsea. Photo: AP
Unable to reclaim the top spot from Man City, Tottenham also suffered a blow to their squad with Romero suspended for three matches, and Van de Ven and James Maddison injured.
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