Rodrigo Bentancur of Tottenham Hotspur has been handed a seven-game suspension by the Football Association, sidelining him from six Premier League matches and a League Cup quarter-final. Tottenham have lodged an appeal against the severity of this suspension, which stems from Bentancur’s remarks about his teammate Son Heung-min.
In a statement on Wednesday, Tottenham expressed their disagreement with the length of Bentancur’s suspension, which was issued after he was found guilty of making an offensive comment during a television interview in Uruguay. The 27-year-old midfielder had referred to Son’s race in a way that was deemed an aggravated breach of conduct by the FA.
Bentancur’s ban, which was announced on Monday, means he will miss a crucial League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United in addition to several league games. Tottenham’s statement acknowledged the guilty verdict but argued that the punishment was too harsh.
“While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe,” the statement read. “Rodrigo will remain suspended from domestic competitions while the appeal is heard and the club will make no further comment during this time.”
The incident occurred in June during an interview in Bentancur’s home country, where he was asked to display a Tottenham player’s shirt. Bentancur responded with, “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.” He later apologized to Son Heung-min on Instagram, and Son publicly accepted the apology, emphasizing their strong relationship and Bentancur’s lack of harmful intent.
Son Heung-min, the South Korean national team captain, stated, “I’ve spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologized. Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.”
In addition to the suspension, Bentancur has been fined £100,000 ($126,000). The disciplinary panel noted that it should have been “reasonably foreseeable” that his remarks would be widely circulated and taken offensively, though they also considered his sincere apology and previously clean disciplinary record as mitigating factors.
