Cristian Romero gets away with it! Thomas Frank confirms Tottenham captain escapes fine and won't be stripped of armband despite public attack on board

Romero has escaped sanction after accusing the Tottenham board of spreading "lies" in an explosive social media post. The Argentine World Cup winner took to Instagram in the aftermath of Wednesday’s 3-2 loss on the south coast, claiming that "other people" should be fronting up to explain the club's struggles.

In a post that was widely interpreted as a direct dig at the board, Romero wrote: "At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t – as has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies."

Although the line regarding "lies" was subsequently deleted, the damage seemed done. However, following a meeting between Romero, Frank, and co-sporting director Johan Lange on Thursday morning, the Spurs boss confirmed that the matter has been closed without punishment.

"He is our captain, he’s not been fined," Frank confirmed. "That’s an internal thing, but we haven’t done that. I think there’s a lot of ways to deal with different situations. We’ve chosen to have a good conversation with him, understand where he stands, handle it internally and that’s everything I have to say."

Frank, who appointed Romero as captain upon his arrival and convinced him to sign a new contract, offered a robust defence of his skipper. The former Brentford manager insisted that while the social media outburst was a "mistake," it does not diminish Romero's value as a leader.

"I said it when I named him the captain that even though he’s an experienced player, he’s tried a lot, he’s still a young leader," Frank explained. "I’m actually very happy with his performance last night, I think he was a true captain in many ways throughout the game. Speaking up at half-time when we were 2-1 down, keep believing, keep doing the right things."

Frank added: "But also when you’re a young leader sometimes you make a mistake, of course it’s good to keep it internally."

The dressing room appears to be firmly behind the Argentine. Teammate Pedro Porro replied to the post with, "Amen. Keep going brother," while Richarlison, Xavi Simons, Dominic Solanke and Radu Dragusin all publicly interacted with the message.

This is not the first time Romero has been outspoken regarding the club's operations. He has previously urged Spurs to spend like rivals Chelsea and Manchester City, complained about travel arrangements following international duty, and openly discussed a potential move to Spain.

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While the internal politics have been settled, Frank faces a mounting crisis on the pitch ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup clash against Aston Villa. The manager confirmed a devastating quadruple injury blow that leaves his squad decimated.

Mohammed Kudus is not expected to return until April after damaging his quad and tendon, while Rodrigo Bentancur limped off with a serious-looking hamstring problem against Bournemouth. Youngster Lucas Bergvall also sustained a muscle injury in the same match.

Furthermore, Frank provided a worrying update on Dejan Kulusevski, who has not played since undergoing kneecap surgery in May.

"The latest on Dejan Kulusevski is that we know it’s a complicated injury," Frank admitted. "The most important thing is to remove the pain in the knee. Got an injection to help that 10 days ago, we know in three to four weeks if it’s settled, and when it’s settled hopefully he’ll be on the grass and from there we’ll see what’s happening."

The defeat to Bournemouth leaves Spurs 14th in the Premier League, having won just one of their last six matches. On Saturday, they will face Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup before returning to league action with a game against struggling West Ham on January 17. A home game against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League follows three days later.