Alan Shearer reacts to rare Premier League footage on Cristian Romero's red card

Alan Shearer has given his verdict on Michael Oliver's decision to show a red card to Cristian Romero during Tottenham's defeat to Manchester United, which will now result in a four-match ban

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer has backed referee Michael Oliver's decision to send off Cristian Romero during Tottenham's defeat to Manchester United, while calling on the club captain to show "better leadership".

The red card came after a poorly timed challenge from the defender on Casemiro, with the referee not hesitating to brandish the card in his direction.

It was a turning point in the game for Spurs, as goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes eventually sank them to another defeat. It marks a tenth loss of the Premier League season in 25 matches, which has left some supporters nervously checking over their shoulders at the league table.

While some may argue that Romero was running onto the ball and was unfortunate to catch Casemiro the way he did, Shearer believes it was the right decision, with BBC's Match of the Day showing rare footage of the referee's camera during the incident. "Absolutely, Michael Oliver gets it absolutely right," the former England captain said.

"You can’t tackle like that in today’s game. He has got to show better leadership, and he's said what he's said in whatever post he has done on Instagram or whatever it was on, but leaders are the ones who perform for the team and make others around them better.

"Now, he’s going to be missing for four games, and Tottenham just do not need that. But absolutely, it is a red card."

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The referee camera view gave some insight into a live view of the challenge in real speed, showing how tough it can be to make those snap decisions. However, it appears in this instance, Oliver got the call right, but that won't come as much comfort for Thomas Frank.

Pressure is continuing to build on the manager, with no wins in seven Premier League games for Tottenham, which have included some frustrating draws. Fitness problems have been a contributing factor, with Romero's suspension now set to add to the frustration when it comes to availability.

Despite his poor discipline in his time at Tottenham so far, Frank was defensive of his captain when speaking to the press. He said: "I think if you look at how many red cards he has had, it's not like he had that many throughout his career. You know, you play with passion and you play with aggression. And there's a fine line when you do that."

When it was pointed out that he had picked up the most red cards of any Premier League player since joining Spurs, the manager responded: "Of Premier League players? OK, I didn't know that."

The club captain will now miss four matches, with this being his second red card of the season. Those matches are: Newcastle, Arsenal, Fulham, and Crystal Palace.

That run of games won't be easy for Spurs to try and get back into some form, but Frank claims they are doing everything possible to get the team back on track. "I think with the players and what they are showing I think they are showing a lot of resilience because it’s very, very tough to get out there every week and not get enough of the good results," he said.

"But I think of course we can’t run away from that we haven’t won enough in the Premier League. We are just coming off the back of four good games where we also showed a lot of resilience. Before that we also did it but we didn’t get enough of the results where we turned it around second half.

"So I think there is still a lot to hang the hat on in terms of resilience but of course the performances need to be backed up with a little bit do more and a little bit doing the right things and then the results will turn."