Alexis Mac Allister didn’t hold back on Cristian Romero’s post after Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool | OneFootball

Highlights

Argentina teammates Alexis Mac Allister and Cristian Romero were involved in an online disagreement following Saturday’s controversial Premier League clash between Tottenham and Liverpool.

Spurs secured a 2-1 victory thanks to a dramatic late own goal by Joel Matip, but that only tells a very small part of the overall story. Liverpool were reduced to nine men after Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were shown red cards either side of half-time. Even more galling for Jurgen Klopp and his players was the fact they had a perfectly good goal disallowed following a serious VAR error.

Luis Diaz thought he’d given 10-man Liverpool the lead in the first half after beating Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario with an excellent finish from an acute angle, but the goal was disallowed following an unusually quick VAR check. It later transpired that “significant human error” was to blame after graphics proved that Diaz was clearly onside when the ball was played.

Over on X (formerly known as Twitter), VAR expert Dale Johnson has since revealed the hapless series of events which culminated in Diaz’s goal being incorrectly disallowed. Arguably the most embarrassing VAR incident for Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) since its introduction into the Premier League during the 2019-20 season, serious questions are now being asked about the current implementation of the divisive technology.

"We will not get points for it, so it doesn't help,” Klopp told reporters after being told of PGMOL’s statement. “I think what everyone wants is, not everybody expects 100% right decisions on field, but I think we all thought when VAR comes in, it might make things easier."

Following their first Premier League defeat of the season, Liverpool now find themselves fourth in the table, one point behind Tottenham and Arsenal, and two points behind leaders Manchester City. While we’ll never know what would have happened had Diaz’s goal been allowed to stand, it’s clear that crucial VAR mistake changed the complexion of the match.

What happened between Mac Allister and Romero?

After the game, Tottenham defender Romero posted a series of images on Instagram, alongside the caption: “This team has great spirit, great heart. always like this, all together.” His fellow World Cup winner, Mac Allister, didn’t hold back in the comments.

Liverpool’s No. 10, who joined the Reds from Brighton in a deal worth an initial £35 million in June, responded: “Normal when you have 12 players.” Ouch. Romero then responded: “Cry at home”.

The comments now appear to have been deleted, although screenshots were taken and uploaded to various social media platforms, including X and Reddit. It might be a little bit awkward the next time they meet up on international duty with Argentina, who face Paraguay and Peru in World Cup qualifying later this month.

Mac Allister and his Liverpool teammates face Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League, and Brighton in the Premier League, before the next international break gets underway. Spurs, meanwhile, travel to Luton Town next weekend, hoping to continue their impressive start to the current campaign under Ange Postecoglou.