From Argentina: Players allowed to return to Tottenham to protect them from sanctions

Monday was a dramatic day for Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero.

As the day started in Argentina, it was thought the Tottenham Hotspur pair would be staying with their national team so they could be available for the match against Bolivia later this week.

The country’s media explained that whilst Aston Villa, who sent Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia, had an agreement for their players to only be available for two of the three matches, Spurs hadn’t. Tottenham hadn’t given permission for their players to travel at all, according to the claims.

Tuesday’s edition of Ole explains that ‘something changed’ as Tuesday went on, and that saw the pair released from Argentina’s squad to travel back to Europe.

The AFA were concerned Lo Celso and Romero would face sanctions from their clubs, and wanted to avoid this possibility. Therefore, it was decided that sending the players back was a better plan than keeping them for the Bolivia game.

Argentina have further matches in October and November, and there’s the likelihood that this is some kind of gesture to try and smooth the path for call-ups then.