Ange Postecoglou has delivered his verdict after Tottenham defender Cristian Romero previously shared a message criticising the club’s travel plans for returning internationals.
Romero appeared to criticise his club’s previous post-international travel arrangements, with a post on his official X account claiming that Spurs players had not flown home on private jets following the recent international break.
The 26-year-old initially reposted – and then deleted – a post by an Argentinian journalist in which the Argentinian journalist claimed that Spurs had ‘given the edge’ to rivals Arsenal during their 1-0 defeat in the North London derby last weekend.
It was the first match for both teams after the first international break of the season and ended with victory for Mikel Arteta’s team after Brazilian defender Gabriel rose above Romero to score from a corner.
Romero was the first to respond to the viral tweet which read: “The only Premier League club that let its players return from their national team without their own logistics (organized by the club),” meaning their “players arrived with less rest than the others.”
Ange Postecoglou (pictured) has passed judgement after Tottenham defender Cristian Romero responded to a tweet criticising the club
Romero (pictured) played in Tottenham’s North London derby which was defeated by rivals Arsenal last weekend
The report criticised the way Tottenham handled their international stars after the break
Spurs manager Postecoglou claims he was only made aware of his player’s online activities after the match, in which Romero played 90 minutes with his centre-back Micky van de Ven.
I was told [after the game] “But I wasn’t told that before the game,” the Spurs manager said.
‘On Thursday all the players were back for a game on Sunday. Before the game nothing was said about it.’
Travel responsibility for international matches lies with national associations and Spurs were pleased to allow Romero to return on flights proposed by Argentina after they lost a World Cup qualifier in Colombia on Tuesday.
Postecoglou had previously designated Thursday as a day off and the players would not train until Friday.
Some clubs offer their players private transport to get them back quicker. Arsenal’s Brazilians were present at the training ground on Thursday.
Romero was on international tour with Argentina and the national team was responsible for organising his return to England.
Tottenham have offered private trips in certain circumstances in the past, but decided not to do so this time around, much to Romero’s chagrin.
Tottenham Hotspur are back in action on Wednesday night when they take on Coventry in the third round of the Carabao Cup, just days after Postecoglou announced he will end the club’s trophy drought this season.