- Antonio Conte has given his ‘very curious’ verdict on Cristian Romero’s ludicrous round-trip to Argentina during the latest international break.
Cristian Romero travelled to Argentina during the international break with the possibility of facing Ecuador on Wednesday(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The Tottenham defender was flown out to his homeland despite Argentina already having qualified for the World Cup, plus the fact that he was actually suspended for both games.
The centre-back was handed a two-match ban for violating COVID-19 protocols on his last trip back to South America. But Argentina still picked him in the hope of overturning the ban, which proved to be fruitless as far as FIFA were concerned.
Romero return to Tottenham earlier than expected after FIFA’s decision. However, Conte is still not happy with how the overall episode went down.
Speaking at his press conference for Sunday’s clash with Newcastle, the Italian laughed when asked about the saga, saying:
“I still don’t understand the situation.
“I spoke with the player. It was very curious. I was the coach of a national team and for this reason I prefer not to answer about this situation.
“It was a strange decision for the player. He’s here and he’s had good training sessions this week. Argentina has qualified for the World Cup and this is the most important thing.”