Rodrigo Bentancur: Tottenham midfielder's appeal against length of ban for Heung-Min Son remark dismissed
Warning: Some readers may find quotes within this article offensive; Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was handed a seven-game ban for a racial slur about team-mate Heung-Min Son and East and Southeast Asians on a Uruguayan TV show;
Tuesday 17 December 2024 16:24, UK
Rodrigo Bentancur's appeal in relation to his seven-match suspension for a racist remark about team-mate Heung-Min Son in a TV interview has been dismissed.
The Uruguay midfielder was given the suspension by an independent commission on November 18 and two days later, Spurs indicated they would appeal.
Spurs said in a statement they accepted the guilty finding against Bentancur but believed the subsequent sanction was severe. The 27-year-old was also fined £100,000 by the Football Association as part of the punishment.
However, his domestic suspension will remain in place after the appeal decision, and he will miss Spurs' upcoming games against Manchester United in the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup and the Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday.
Bentancur, who has still been able to play in the Europa League, has missed games against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Southampton. He will be available to play again for Spurs in the Premier League at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
A statement from the FA said: "An independent appeal board has dismissed an appeal by Rodrigo Bentancur in relation to his recent suspension.
"An independent regulatory commission imposed a seven-match suspension on the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder for an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview.
"This appeal was dismissed following a hearing and the seven-match suspension remains as ordered by the regulatory commission."
Tottenham do not wish to comment on their appeal being dismissed.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will be facing the media tomorrow ahead of their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United on Thursday.
Bentancur was sanctioned over comments he made in an interview aired on Uruguayan TV in June.
The former Juventus midfielder was asked to show the shirt of a Spurs player and replied: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."
While an apology from Bentancur was swiftly forthcoming due to it being an "aggravated breach", an independent regulatory commission panel were required to either uphold the FA charge or dismiss the case.
Son said he and Bentancur remained "brothers" and "nothing had changed" after the Uruguayan immediately apologised to him, admitting he had "made a mistake".
"I've spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised," the South Korea captain said.
"Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.
"We're past this, we're united and we will be back together in pre-season to fight for our club as one."
Kick It Out/Frank Soo Foundation: Spurs' appeal 'extended the pain'
Anti-discrimination campaign Kick It Out released a joint statement with the Frank Soo Foundation following the FA Independent Appeal Board's decision to dismiss the appeal against Bentancur's seven-match suspension.
"Kick It Out received more reports about Tottenham's decision to appeal against the discrimination sanction for Rodrigo Bentancur than the original incident itself, the statement read.
"Many of the reports from the East and Southeast Asian community and beyond told us how angry and disappointed they were with the club's actions and how it extended the pain for those who were affected by the original incident.
"We know this has been an upsetting episode for many fans and hope the club will now reflect on its decision and how it might seek to engage with the community.
"The number of reports to Kick It Out over recent seasons shows that more education is needed to highlight East and Southeast Asian racism in football, and we would urge clubs to tackle this in the same manner as other forms of discrimination.
"We await the written reasons for the dismissal of the appeal with keen interest."
