Rodrigo Bentancur, the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, has been banned for seven matches by the Football Association over a racist remark he made about Son Heung-min.
Bentancur, who has also been fined £100,000, had suggested in a YouTube interview in Uruguay that his Spurs team-mate was indistinguishable in looks from other South Koreans.
Following charges in September a panel found that he had shown “genuine remorse” but he should have “foreseen substantial publicity” in making the abusive joke.
Bentancur was being interviewed during a tour of his home when Uruguayan journalist Rafa Cotelo asked: “Well, what about the Korean’s shirt?”
After questioning whether the journalist was asking about “Sonny”, Bentancur then added: “Or one of Sonny’s cousins as they all look more or less the same.”
Sir Gary Hickinbottom, who led an independent regulatory commission panel, acknowledged Bentancur’s subsequent direct apologies and statements on social media after the interview clip was published. However, Hickinbottom said it remained a straightforward case to impose a seven-match suspension plus £100,000 fine on Bentancur for a breach of FA Rule E3 – acting in “an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute”.
It was further found proven that his comments constituted an “aggravated breach”, as they included a reference to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.
Bentancur was also instructed to attend an educational course and the panel chair added: “We consider that sanction, when looked at as a whole, is in all the circumstances reasonable and proportionate to the breach we have found proved.”
The ban for Bentancur is likely to prompt scrutiny of the regulations as the FA was powerless to bring sanctions against Enzo Fernandez after the Chelsea midfielder was accused of singing a racist and transphobic chant following Argentina’s Copa America triumph.
Tottenham’s midfielder had been facing a potential 12-game ban, but Fernandez escaped any FA punishment because the alleged breach took place while he was on international duty.
Bentancur was charged by the FA on Sept 12 over the interview with Cotelo, the host of Canal 10. After footage became public, he expressed immediate remorse.
Son, meanwhile, acknowledged his team-mate “made a mistake”. “He knows this and has apologised,” Son said. “Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.”
He later added: “When we came back for pre-season, he [Bentancur] felt sorry and he almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.”
Tottenham had also added that the club have “been providing assistance in ensuring a positive outcome on this matter”.
“This will include further education for all players in line with our diversity, equality and inclusion objectives,” the club said. “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 franchise and playing squads.”
However, the independent regulatory commission panel upheld the charge and Bentancur will sit out Tottenham’s next seven domestic fixtures, but will be able to feature for the club in forthcoming Europa League matches against Roma and Rangers.
An FA spokesperson said: “An independent regulatory commission has imposed a seven-match suspension and £100,000 fine on Rodrigo Bentancur for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview. 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. Rodrigo Bentancur denied this charge, but the independent regulatory commission found it to be proven and imposed his sanctions following a hearing.”
Analysis: Why did Enzo Fernandez and Rodri escape bans?
After a summer of discrimination cases against the likes of Fernandez and Rodri, only Bentancur faces an FA ban – because of timing.
The FA had been powerless to go after either the Chelsea or Manchester City midfielder because their cases took place while on international duty.
The Bentancur interview emerged within weeks of those other cases but, as it took place officially “on his own time”, the FA was able to pursue a case against him as “a participant in English football”.
Fifa, instead, launched investigations after France complained over a video of Fernandez allegedly singing a racist and transphobic chant following Argentina’s Copa America triumph. First sung by Argentina fans during the 2022 World Cup, the chant claims that France’s players are “all from Angola” and making crude insults and wild accusations about Kylian Mbappe’s sexuality.
Rodri and Alvaro Morata, meanwhile, were each banned for one Spain match by Uefa for chanting “Gibraltar is Spanish” during celebrations in Madrid for the victory against England in the Euro 2024 final.