Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a seven-game ban and a £100,000 advantageous by the English Soccer Affiliation (FA) for utilizing abusive language and bringing the sport into disrepute throughout a Spanish-language interview on Uruguayan tv in June.
The ban applies solely to English membership soccer and never European competitors, which means he can nonetheless compete in opposition to Roma and Rangers within the Europa League. He’ll miss Premier League clashes with Manchester Metropolis, Chelsea and Liverpool, in addition to a Carabao Cup quarterfinal in opposition to Manchester United.
The cost by the FA stemmed from a clip posted on social media after Bentancur was interviewed on Uruguayan Tv programme “Por La Camiseta.” Host Rafa Cotelo requested Bentancur for a Spurs participant’s shirt, to which he replied, “Sonny’s?” [Son Heung-Min], including: “It could possibly be Sonny’s cousin too as all of them look the identical.”
He denied the preliminary FA cost, in keeping with the assertion issued on Monday, and may attraction the ruling.
The FA mentioned: “It was additional alleged that this constitutes an ‘aggravated breach’… because it included a reference — whether or not specific or implied — to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.”
In a information convention throughout the ongoing worldwide break, Bentancur informed reporters that he was braced for the punishment. As a part of the choice, he additionally has to attend face-to-face training periods which should be accomplished by March 2025.
The Uruguay worldwide apologised on June 20 in a put up on Instagram for the comment that he mentioned was a “very dangerous joke.” 5 days later, Son, Tottenham’s captain, mentioned that he had accepted his teammate’s apology.
“He made a mistake, he is aware of this and has apologised. Lolo [Bentancur] wouldn’t imply to ever deliberately say one thing offensive. We’re brothers and nothing has modified in any respect,” Son mentioned in a put up on social media.
“We’re previous this, we’re united, and we can be again collectively in preseason to struggle for our membership as one.”
Info from Reuters contributed to this report.
