Wayne Rooney gives Cristian Romero red card verdict as accusation fired at Liverpool star

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero faces a one-game suspension following his red card against Liverpool on Saturday

Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney believes Cristian Romero 's red card in Tottenham 's defeat against Liverpool on Saturday evening was soft. He also accused Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate of 'playing' on the incident to get the Argentine into trouble.

Thomas Frank's men suffered a third defeat in six games across all competitions against the reigning Premier League champions over the weekend. The hosts endured an early blow in north London as Xavi Simons was shown a red card for a tackle on Virgil van Dijk.

Alexander Isak then opened the scoring almost immediately after coming off the bench in the second half, before he was subsequently substituted after sustaining an injury following a challenge from Spurs defender Micky van de Ven. Hugo Ekitike later doubled Liverpool's advantage.

Spurs were given a glimmer of hope of snatching something late in the game as Richarlison came off the bench to capitalise on some poor Liverpool defending and pull a goal back. Despite late pressure from Frank’s men, they suffered another setback in stoppage time as Romero was shown a red card for appearing to kick out at Ibrahima Konate.

Even with nine men, Spurs pushed for that all-important equaliser but ultimately fell just short. The result leaves them 13th in the league standings and seven points outside the top four with 17 games played.

There was plenty of discussion post-match over the refereeing decisions, notably the red cards that were given, as well as those that were not. While Van de Ven avoided punishment for his challenge on Isak, both Simons and Romero were less fortunate, with many questioning whether the decisions were correct.

Rooney, speaking on his podcast with BBC Sounds, delivered his verdict on the Romero incident in added time. While the former United and Everton star believes Spurs were playing on the edge with some of their challenges, he felt Konate played on the incident to get his opponent sent off.

"I think sometimes it’s better, and in the big games as well, playing on that edge and having that, you know, little bit of hunger in a weird way," he explained. "It’s quite difficult to explain, but playing on that edge in the big games is better.

"But then you’re at risk of overflowing a little bit and I think with the two red cards, the second red card, the Romero one, I think is soft. I think Konate’s played on it a little bit.

"I think playing on that edge you’re at danger of getting a red card or something silly happening, but the outcomes can be much better when you’re playing that edge. I think that’s what people want to see as well."

Simons will now miss Spurs’ next three games due to his sending off being for serious foul play. He will not be involved against Crystal Palace after Christmas, nor in the games against Brentford and Sunderland.

Romero, meanwhile, was shown a red card for two bookable offences. That means he will serve a one-game suspension and will only be ruled out for the trip to Crystal Palace this weekend.