Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been suspended for seven games and fined £100,000 by the Football Association (FA) over comments he made about teammate Son Heung-min.
Bentancur said on the TV program “Por la Camiseta” broadcast in his native Uruguay in June that South Korea's Song and his cousins ”all look the same.” The 27-year-old later apologized on social media.
Bentancur was charged by the FA in September, accusing him of “behaving inappropriately, using abusive or insulting language, and/or bringing the game into disrepute”. The FA added in a statement that the charges amounted to an “aggravated breach” under FA Regulation E3.2, as they contained references to nationality, race and ethnic origin.
The Athletic At a press conference in late September, Son was asked about his reaction to the charges and his relationship with Bentancur.
“The process is going on with the FA, so I can't say much about it, but I love Rodrygo,” Son said. “Again, I love him, I love him.
“We have a lot of good memories and we started playing together when he joined. When we went on holiday, he apologized immediately afterwards.
“I was at home and I didn't even know what was going on. He sent me a long text message that I felt was from his heart. Then in the preseason… When he came back to practice and apologized publicly and privately, he was so sorry that he almost cried. He seemed really sorry. .”
Bentancur denied the FA's charges, but an independent regulatory commission found him guilty and, following a hearing, decided on his punishment.
The Uruguay international will miss Tottenham's upcoming Premier League matches against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool, as well as the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United in December. . He will still be able to play for them in the Europa League.
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Rodrigo Bentancur's 7-game suspension explained: What the Spurs player did and what he will miss out on
(Julian Finney/Getty Images)
