Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur banned for 7 matches over racial comment about teammate

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) — Tottenham Hotspur's Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been suspended for seven matches and fined for a racial slur against his South Korean teammate Son Heung-min, the English football body said on Monday.

"An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed a seven-match suspension and £100,000 (over $126,000) fine on Rodrigo Bentancur for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview," the FA said.

"It was alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.

"It was further alleged that this constitutes an "aggravated breach", which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference – whether express or implied – to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin," it added.

Bentancur, 27, who left Italy's Juventus for Tottenham in January 2022, has been playing alongside Spurs captain and winger Son for at least two years.

Son, the 32-year-old international, joined Tottenham in 2015 to become one of the London club's main pillars.

In June, Bentancur appeared in a TV show in Uruguay, where the midfielder was asked for a football shirt belonging to Son.

"Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin, too, as they all look the same," Bentancur replied to the TV program host.

In June, Bentancur apologized to Son on Instagram for a "very bad joke," and the London club's South Korean captain accepted his apology.

"He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologized. Lolo (Bentancur) would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all," Son previously said on social media.

Mid-table Spurs will be without Bentancur in their next six English Premier League matches, including the next one with Manchester City Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.

Bentancur will be ineligible for Spurs' domestic contests in the league and the EFL Cup quarterfinals against Manchester United in December.

He will also miss the Liverpool match in the league on Dec. 22, and can play against Nottingham Forest on the Boxing Day, Dec. 26.

However he is allowed to play for Tottenham's UEFA Europa League matches against Italy's Roma in London and Scotland's Rangers in Glasgow before Christmas.