Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was handed a seven-game ban and a £100,000 fine by the English Football Association (FA) last week for using a racial slur against his teammate Son Heung-min during a Spanish-language interview on Uruguayan television in June.
The ban applies to only domestic games, meaning the Uruguayan international can still feature against AS Roma and Rangers in the Europa League. After having sat out the 4-0 rout of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, he is set to miss further Premier League clashes against Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool, as well as the Carabao Cup quarter-final showdown at home to Manchester United.
The FA pressed charges against the central midfielder after a clip emerged on social media where Rodrigo Bentancur was interviewed on Uruguayan Television programme “Por La Camiseta.” Host Rafa Cotelo asked Bentancur for a Spurs player’s shirt, to which he replied, “Sonny’s?” [Son Heung-Min], adding: “It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
Tottenham have accepted the FA’s guilty finding but have appealed against the length of his ban as they find it extremely harsh. They want to get it reduced to six games, with head coach Ange Postecoglou backing the club’s decision to appeal against the South American’s lengthy suspension.
And now GIVEMESPORT journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that North London are feeling ‘optimistic’ over Bentancur’s suspension reduction. He says Spurs will only be able to reduce their star’s ban by one game thanks to the Premier League’s rules and regulations.
“The minimum suspension for aggravated misconduct is six matches, so even if Spurs are successful, Rodrigo Bentancur will only have one-match from his seven-game ban taken off,” Ben Jacobs exclusively told GIVEMESPORT.
“Spurs are optimistic, and know several other clubs sympathise with the severity of the punishment. Spurs will argue Bentancur did not mean any offence in making the remarks, and instead that he was actually being sarcastic, replying in such a manner because he was offended himself and taken aback by the interviewer simply referring to Son as ‘the Korean’.”
As per the ban, Bentancur is poised to return for the Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest on December 26. But if the ban is shortened to six games, the Nueva Helvecia-born talent will be eligible to feature against Liverpool at home on December 22.
The Uruguayan international has become a vital player for Postecoglou’s side this season, featuring in 15 games across all competitions. He scored his first goal of the season in Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Ipswich Town before the November international break. Even if the FA reduces Bentancur’s ban to six games, it will be a huge boost for Big Ange’s side.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
