Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur is facing a ban over comments he made about Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min. The midfielder has been charged by the FA after making the remarks during an interview in Uruguay over the summer.
Bentancur and Son have been team-mates at Spurs since January 2022 after the Uruguay international joined the club from Juventus.
The 27-year-old started Tottenham’s opening clash of the campaign against Leicester but left the pitch on a stretcher after smashing his head into the turf. He returned to action as a late substitute against Newcastle ahead of the international break.
In the summer, Bentancur carried out an interview in his homeland and appeared to say that people from South Korea “all look the same”.
He later apologised to Son as he wrote on Instagram: “Sonny brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke.”
In June, the anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out explained they had received “significant number” of complaints about Bentancur’s comments.
And the FA have now taken action by charging the player. “Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview,” the organisation wrote in a statement.
“It’s alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has 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’s 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 has until Thursday 19 September 2024 to provide a response to this charge.”
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