The Premier League has explained why Cristian Romero escaped a red card in Tottenham's Premier League clash at Brentford on Thursday evening.
Thomas Frank's men travelled to the Gtech Community Stadium looking to build on their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. However,Frank's return to Brentford ended goalless with little drama.
However, things could have been different had Romero been shown a straight red card. Referee Andy Madley decided not to send the defender off for a potential denial of a goal-scoring opportunity in the second half.
The incident was reviewed by the video assistant referee (VAR), and the on-field decision remained unchanged. Posting on their Premier League Match Centre X account, an explanation was given on why the decision was not overturned.
It read: "The referee's call of no red card to Romero for a potential denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) offence was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed there was no clear and obvious error."
Last month, Romero escaped another red card for a challenge on Igor Thiago. Due to the nature of the challenge, VAR briefly put the game on hold as they examined the footage further for a "dangerous" tackle.
In the end, it was decided that a yellow card for the Argentine defender was the correct one. Taking to X to clear up the decision, the Premier League Match Centre wrote: "The referee's call of yellow card to Romero was checked and confirmed by VAR - with it deemed a reckless challenge."
Following the goalless draw on Thursday, Brentford boss Keith Andrews insisted he thought Romero should have been sent off for a foul on Thiago. He said: "It should have been a red card and he should have had a red card in the first game 26 days ago for a scissors tackle."
Brentford had scored earlier in the game through Kevin Schade inside the first 10 minutes, but the German attacker was deemed to be in an offside position. The game failed to come alive, with neither team having any opportunities to earn all three points.
Spurs' Archie Gray thought he won a penalty when he was clipped inside the penalty area in the second half. However, Madley waved away the protests, and VAR stuck with the decision.
Frank threw on Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel in an attempt to win against his former team, but the attackers were unable to make a difference. The game was the first that last season's top scorer Brennan Johnson missed as he edges closer to his move to Crystal Palace.
The forward is understood to have undergone his medical ahead of his £33.5million move to Selhurst Park. football.london understands that the Wales international was told by Frank and sporting director Fabio Paratici on New Year's Eve that he wasn't part of the club's plans in the future.
