Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was banned for seven matches for making an offensive remark about South Koreans in relation to a comment about Tottenham teammate Son Heung-min.
The English Soccer Affiliation mentioned in a press release that an unbiased fee additionally imposed a $193,000 wonderful on the participant. The sanction could be appealed.
The suspension solely covers home matches, that means that the 27-year-old Bentancur will probably be accessible to play for his London membership within the Europa League. Spurs tackle Roma within the league section of the match on November 28.
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Showing on a Uruguayan tv present in June, Bentancur was requested for a Tottenham participant’s jersey and replied, “Sonny’s?” He added it may very well be Son’s cousin, too, as a result of “kind of they’re all the identical.”
Bentancur later apologised to Son on Instagram, saying it was a “very dangerous joke” and he would “by no means disrespect you or damage you.”
Son accepted the justifications, saying that his teammate had made a mistake and “wouldn’t imply to ever deliberately say one thing offensive.”
“We’re brothers and nothing has modified in any respect,” Son mentioned in June. “We’re previous this, we’re united, and we will probably be again collectively in preseason to combat for our membership as one.”
Son Heung-min and Rodrigo Bentancur of Tottenham Hotspur throughout the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 19, 2023 in London, United Kingdom. (Photograph by Marc Atkins/Getty Pictures) Getty
Bentancur was charged by the English FA in September as a result of he was alleged to have “acted in an improper method and/or used abusive and/or insulting phrases and/or introduced the sport into disrepute.”
The FA mentioned it constituted an aggravated breach as a result of it included “reference to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.”
Particulars of the choice launched by the fee confirmed that Bentancur defined his feedback “have been sarcastic and a delicate rebuke” for the journalist calling his teammate ‘The Korean’, and that he challenged the reporter’s description of Son.
In its conclusions, the regulatory fee, nevertheless, wrote that “even on the idea of the participant’s proof and submissions, we take into account the participant’s conduct in utilizing the phrases he did, within the full context during which they have been used, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would quantity to misconduct.”
The fee added that it additionally took into consideration the truth that Bentancur didn’t intend to offend Son or anybody else.
Bentancur was additionally ordered to attend a “face-to-face training program”, particulars of which will probably be offered later. The course must be accomplished by March 11 subsequent yr.
“If the participant fails to finish this system satisfactorily in that interval, he will probably be instantly suspended from all home membership soccer till such time because the obligatory program is accomplished,” the FA mentioned.
Tottenham and Bentancur didn’t instantly react to the punishment.
