Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a seven-game ban and a £100,000 fine by the English Football Association (FA) for using abusive language and bringing the game into disrepute during an interview on Uruguayan television in June.
The ban only applies to English club football and not European competition, meaning he can still compete against Roma and Rangers in the Europa League. He will miss Premier League clashes with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as a Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United.
Bentancur was initially charged by the FA for saying that all South Korean people “look the same” during the television appearance. He denied the initial FA charge, according to the statement issued on Monday, and can appeal the ruling.
The FA said: “It was further alleged that this constitutes an ‘aggravated breach’… as it included a reference — whether express or implied — to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.”
In a news conference during the ongoing international break, Bentancur told reporters that he was braced for the punishment. As part of the decision, he also has to attend face-to-face education sessions which have to be completed by March 2025.
The charge stemmed from a clip posted on social media from an interview 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.”
The Uruguay international apologised on June 20 in a post on Instagram for the remark that he said was a “very bad joke.” Five days later, Son, Tottenham’s captain, said that he had accepted his teammate’s apology.
“He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised. Lolo [Bentancur] would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all,” Son said in a post on social media.
“We’re past this, we’re united, and we will be back together in preseason to fight for our club as one.”
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.
