- Rodrigo Bentancur made an alleged racist remark about South Koreans on TV
- The Spurs star was charged by the FA with an ‘aggravated breach’ of their rules
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Rodrigo Bentancur is anticipating a severe sanction from the FA for his alleged racist remark about South Koreans whilst on Uruguayan TV in the summer.
Appearing on the show, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player’s jersey and replied, ‘Sonny’s?’ – referencing his team-mate Son Heung-min.
He then added it could be Son’s cousin, too, because ‘more or less they are all the same.’
The FA confirmed that they have charged the South American for an ‘aggravated breach’ of their rules in September. A statement began: ‘Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.’
Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Thursday that the midfielder is likely to receive a seven match ban – but that figure is unconfirmed.
While on international duty with his national side this week, the Tottenham midfielder revealed that he had been informed by his agent that the punishment will be harsh.
‘My agent rang me and told me he had been notified that this was the sanction.’ The 27-year-old said. ‘So far, the club haven’t contacted me. I already knew more or less where it was going.
‘Now the sanction is out, I want to be calm here with the national team. Then we’ll see when it’s time to go back.’
Bentancur has played an important role for Postecoglou this campaign, featuring in 10 of Tottenham’s 11 Premier League games so far, starting seven.
The only league match the Uruguayan has missed this season was Spurs’ home clash with Everton on the second weekend, when Postecoglou’s side triumphed 4-0.
Breaking his silence on the incident earlier this summer, the former Juventus star took to social media to deliver a grovelling apology to Son, insisting to the Spurs captain it was a ‘very bad joke’.
He said: ‘Sonny brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke!
‘You know that I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you brother!’
The South Korean revealed that team-mate Bentancur was close to tears when he apologised over the alleged racial slur.
‘At the moment because of the FA process I can’t say much about it,’ said Son in September. ‘But I love Rodrigo, I love him. We’ve a lot of good memories since we started playing together when he joined.
‘He knew and he apologised straight afterwards. We were on holiday. I was at home. I didn’t even realise what was going on when he sent me a long message and you could feel it was coming from his heart.
‘When we came back for pre-season he felt really sorry, and almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.’
‘I love Rodrigo. I love him, I love him,’ the South Korean said when he first broke his silence on the incident in June.
‘He knows he made a mistake but I’ve no problem at all with him. We move on as a team-mate and friend and as a brother. We move on together.
‘We have to wait for what the FA says in their process. I can’t say much but what I can say is I love Rodrigo, there’s nothing more to say.’
Bentancur’s comment came less than a year after a fan was handed a three-year football ban for racially abusing Son.
Robert Garland made the racial gesture at the forward after he was substituted in the 89th minute against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 6 May, 2023.
The 44-year-old football fan pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment at Highbury Magistrates Court on August 25 and was convicted later that year.
The incident in May 2023 marked the third time Son had been targeted by racial abuse during while representing Tottenham last season.
Bentancur is set to miss a slate of crucial matches for Ange Postecoglou’s side, including Premier League matches against Manchester City and Chelsea, as well as the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United on December 19.
