Tottenham star Cristian Romero has backtracked after appearing to celebrate in Harry Maguire’s face during last month’s clash between the two sides.
Manchester United came out victorious in the game but there were several talking points following the full-time whistle, with Romero’s on-pitch antics being one of them.
Maguire was unfortunate to score an own goal late in the game to equalise for Tottenham and Romero was seen screaming in the defender’s face, as pictured above.
Ironically enough, Romero’s own defensive frailties were exposed just minutes later when Ronaldo rose above him to score the winner for United, leaving the Argentine on the floor and with nothing to show for the 90 minutes.
Romero has now commented on the incident, claiming that he meant no harm in his actions, and has praised Maguire for his career.
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“I think sometimes things happen in football and maybe if you capture a moment with a single photo it can seem like something that wasn’t really happening,” Romero told The Athletic. “I’ve got nothing but respect for Harry Maguire. He’s a top player who is having a great career.
“And generally I always respect my opponents so I think people who don’t know about the game get hold of a story and run with it and talk about something that’s not really there. Maybe on that occasion, I didn’t quite do the right thing but I had no bad intentions.”
SN’s verdict on Romero’s comments…
Harry Maguire did the right thing at the time by not reacting and perhaps Romero shouldn’t have commented on the incident at all either. His intentions were clear but things like this always come back to bite you. And fortunately for Manchester United, that moment came just minutes after.
United’s 3-2 win made it three wins on the spin for the Reds against Tottenham – so you could forgive Romero for feeling overwhelmed after thinking they were going to snatch a point at Old Trafford.
