Tottenham lose Bentancur ban appeal for racist comment about South Koreans
Al Jazeera
The English Football Association reject Tottenham’s appeal to reduce Rodrigo Bentancur’s ban for racist remark.
Tottenham have lost their appeal against the severity of Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match ban for making an offensive comment about South Koreans in relation to a remark about Spurs teammate Son Heung-min.
The Football Association said Tuesday that Spurs’ appeal was dismissed following a hearing and the sanction stands, with the reasons for the decision published soon.
Bentancur has already been suspended for five domestic games, and will miss the English League Cup quarterfinal match against Manchester United on Thursday as well as the visit of Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
Appearing on a Uruguayan television show in June, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player’s jersey and replied, “Sonny’s?” He added it could be Son’s cousin, too, because “more or less they are all the same.”
Bentancur later apologised to Son on Instagram, saying it was a “very bad joke” and he would “never disrespect you or hurt you.” Son accepted the apology.
