Rodrigo Bentancur: Tottenham appeal against length of seven-game ban
Tottenham Hotspur are appealing against Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match domestic ban for making racist slurs towards team-mate Son Heung-min, saying the Football Association’s punishment was “harsh”.
Spurs said they accepted the guilty verdict from the independent regulatory commission, which also fined the player £100,000 and ordered him to attend a mandatory face-to-face education programme.
He was previously charged by the FA in September for comments he made on a TV show in his native Uruguay in June.
Bentancur has denied the accusation and has been suspended until December 26.
He will miss Premier League games against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as Tottenham’s Carabao Cup quarter-finals against Manchester United, but is available for Tottenham’s Europa League clash.
The Uruguayan midfielder will remain suspended domestically while his appeal is heard.
In charging the Uruguay international, the FA said it was “allegedly in breach of FA Rule E3 due to inappropriate conduct in interviews with the media”.
The FA said this constituted a “serious breach as it included an explicit or implicit reference to nationality and/or race and/or national origin”.
The committee said such violations “require an immediate suspension of 6-12 games”.
In an interview with the media, the host asked about the Tottenham Hotspur jersey, and Bentancur replied: “Sonny’s? Maybe it’s Sonny’s cousin, because they all look the same.”
He later apologized on social media and said his comments were a “really bad joke.”
Bentancur also apologized to South Korea forward Masayoshi Son, who said he “didn’t intend to say anything offensive on purpose.”
Tottenham said in a statement: “We can confirm that the club has lodged an appeal against the FA suspension of Rodrigo Bentancur, which was issued earlier this week.
“While we accept the independent regulatory commission’s guilty verdict against Rodrigo, we believe the subsequent sanctions will be severe.”
