Tottenham has launched an 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.
"I've said all along, he's made a mistake, we've accepted that he has made a mistake," said coach Ange Postecoglou.
"We believe the first one (ban) was harsh and we've appealed that, which I think is our right. That's the whole process."
Bentancur will remain suspended from domestic competitions while the appeal is heard. He is set to miss six Premier League games and an English League Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United. The ban doesn’t cover European competitions, so he can play in the Europa League.
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.
Details of the decision released by the independent commission showed that Bentancur explained his comments “were sarcastic and a gentle rebuke” for the journalist calling his teammate “The Korean” and that he challenged the reporter’s description of Son.
The Spurs manager added: "I get that people want to burn people at the stake these days, but as I keep saying, part of this process, if you want a real sort of education, is to understand," added the 59-year-old.
"When somebody makes a mistake and they pay a penalty, part of that is education and hopefully treating him in a way that people see is the way forward.
"Whether it is Rodrigo or anyone else. I'm old enough in life, I've made bigger mistakes than that mate, but I was allowed to learn from it. Hopefully I'm a better human being because of that."
In its conclusions, the regulatory commission, however, wrote that “even on the basis of the player’s evidence and submissions, we consider the player’s conduct in using the words he did, in the full context in which they were used, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would amount to misconduct.”
The commission added that it also took into consideration the fact that Bentancur did not intend to offend Son or anyone else.