Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged by the Football Association with aiming a racist slur at captain Son Heung-min after suggesting South Koreans “all look the same”.
Bentancur faces punishment after being alleged to have “used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute” in comments referencing Son’s “nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin”.
He was given until next Thursday to respond.
The Uruguay international apologised back in June for remarks made on his country’s Canal 10 show Por La Camiseta when he was asked for a Spurs player’s shirt.
“Sonny’s?” he replied at the time. “It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
Following an inevitable backlash from those who watched the clip, Bentancur posted on social media that he had not intended to insult Son.
“Sonny, brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke,” Bentancur said. “You know that I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you, brother!”
Spurs and Son subsequently released statements of their own, with the South Korea skipper insisting he and Bentancur remained “brothers” and that “nothing has changed” in their relationship.
“I have spoken with Lolo,” Son said. “He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised. Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all. We’re past this, we’re united, and we will be back together in pre-season to fight for our club as one.”
Spurs said they “fully support” Son in feeling that he could “draw a line” under the incident.
“Following a comment from Rodrigo Bentancur in an interview video clip and the player’s subsequent public apology, the club has been providing assistance in ensuring a positive outcome on the matter,” Spurs said in a statement.
“This will include further education for all players in line with our diversity, equality and inclusion objectives. We fully support that our captain Sonny feels that he can draw a line under the incident and that the team can focus on the new season ahead.
“We are extremely proud of our diverse, global fanbase and playing squads. Discrimination of any kind has no place at our Club, within our game or within wider society.”
Son has previously spoken emotionally about the racism and stereotyping he had to endure during his career, especially as a youngster trying to establish himself in the professional game. Two years ago, he told Korean TV about his experiences.
“I moved to Germany when I was young and went through so many really difficult, unimaginable moments,” he said.
“I faced a lot of racism. And while going through such a really difficult time, I had a lot of thoughts on my mind [that] I should get my revenge one day.”
In 2021, 12 men from across England and Wales were arrested or interviewed under caution “on suspicion of using words or behaviour, or displaying written material with intent to stir up racial hatred” against Son. The online abuse was directed at him during a Premier League fixture with Manchester United that year.
The FA has a long-standing policy of punishing those found to have used language deemed racist, with some high-profile players charged under different circumstances following incidents on and off the pitch.
Five years ago, Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was fined £50,000 and banned for one match after a social media post about Benjamin Mendy which perpetuated a racial stereotype.
Most notoriously, another Uruguayan, Luis Suarez, was fined £40,000 and banned for eight matches for racially abusing Patrice Evra during a 2011 fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United.