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A Tottenham Hotspur star will miss upcoming games against Manchester City and Manchester United.
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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a lengthy suspension after he was alleged to have made racial slurs aimed at Spurs teammate and captain Son Heung-min.
The ban relates to an incident where Bentancur was speaking to the media in Uruguay back in June. He was asked by the presenter of the show for a Tottenham shirt, to which he replied: ‘Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same.’
Following this, the 27-year-old issued an apology to his followers on social media, condemning the comments he made stating that they were a ‘very bad joke’. Additionally, he also personally apologised to Son. Bentancur will miss no less than seven domestic games as a result of the ban. This will include Tottenham’s Premier League game against Manchester City on November 23 and their clash with Manchester United in the quarter finals of the League Cup on December 19. As well as this, he has also been fined £100,000 by the FA and will be required to attend a ‘face-to-face education programme’.
Bentancur will also miss games against Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool. He will, however, still be available to play in the Europa League during this period as the ban is only applicable to domestic competitions. The Uruguayan international has been an important player for the Lilywhites so far this season and losing him for seven games will be a massive blow for Ange Postecoglou’s men. Thus far, Bentancur has made 15 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, scoring a single goal and notching up a solitary assist along the way.
Prior to his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Bentancur played for Boca Juniors and Juventus. He is a senior Uruguay international - at the time of writing, he has picked up 66 caps for his country, scoring three goals along the way. As such, Spurs could be short of options in the middle of the park when they play the two Manchester clubs - Pape Matar Sarr will likely take his place in the box-to-box role.
What has the FA said following the decision to hand Bentancur a ban?
The FA’s full statement on the matter reads as follows: “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. Its written reasons for these decisions can be seen below.“