Tottenham Hotspur has decided to file an appeal against the length of the seven-match suspension handed to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur for making an inappropriate remark about South Koreans, which was related to a comment about his teammate Son Heung-min.
On Wednesday, the club expressed their views regarding the ban, stating, “While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe.”
Currently, Bentancur will serve a suspension from domestic play while the appeal is processed. He faces the prospect of missing six Premier League matches along with a quarterfinal game in the English League Cup against Manchester United. However, the suspension does not extend to European competitions, allowing him to participate in the Europa League.
The controversy arose when Bentancur was featured on a Uruguayan television program in June, where he was asked about obtaining a jersey from a Tottenham player. He responded with, “Sonny’s?” and added, “It could be Son’s cousin, too, because more or less they are all the same.”
Following the incident, he took to Instagram to apologize to Son, calling the comment a “very bad joke” and assuring him that he would “never disrespect you or hurt you.” Son accepted this apology graciously.
The independent regulatory commission published findings that indicated Bentancur stated his comments were meant to be sarcastic and a light-hearted response to a journalist who referred to Son as “The Korean.” He aimed to challenge the reporter’s way of describing his teammate.
Despite this explanation, the commission concluded 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 full context, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would amount to misconduct.”
The regulatory body also noted it was aware that Bentancur did not intend to offend Son or any other individuals. In addition to the suspension, Bentancur has been fined £100,000 (equivalent to $126,000) as part of the penalty imposed by the commission.