Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur will reportedly serve the full extent of his seven-match ban, after he was adjudged to have made racist comments about teammate Son Heung-min whilst on international duty with Uruguay - with the north London club being unsuccessful in their appeal to have his ban reduced.
Bentancur made a remark about the South Korean star on Uruguayan television, which was noticed by the English Football Association - with a seven-match ban and a £100,000 fine being dished out to the former Juventus star. GIVEMESPORT sources had previously revealed that Tottenham would aim to get the ban overturned from seven to six matches, with FA rules stating that six is the minimum for such an incident - but reports have stated that they have not won their battle.
The report from Daily Telegraph journalist Matt Law states that Tottenham's appeal against Bentancur's ban for racism has been unsuccessful - and as a result, the full length of his time away from the pitch will remain at seven games.
Bentancur's last appearance saw him score against Ipswich Town in early November in a 2-1 loss, but he's since missed five Premier League games, with Tottenham having garnered seven points in that time. However, with the ban being unsuccessful, it means the Uruguayan will also miss their home game against Liverpool on Sunday, with the club having hoped that Thursday evening's clash against Manchester United in the League Cup would be the final game of his ban.
They are two huge games, with the Lilywhites close to finding their way into the semi-finals of the League Cup, which would put them just three games from winning a first trophy in 17 years - and if they manage to beat Arne Slot's side, they could go as high as sixth in the Premier League table for Boxing Day.