Tottenham has appealed the length of the seven-match national ban imposed on Rodrigo Bentancur for a racist insult made against teammate Son Heung-min, saying the Football Association’s punishment is “severe.”
Spurs say they accept the guilty finding of an independent regulatory commission, which also fined the player £100,000 and ordered him to participate in a mandatory face-to-face educational programme.
It came after the FA charged him in September over comments made while appearing on television in his home country of Uruguay in June.
Bentancur, who denied the charges, is currently suspended from national matches until December 26.
He will miss the Premier League games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, among others, as well as Spurs’ League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United, but is available for the Europa League games of The Spurs.
The Uruguayan midfielder will remain suspended nationwide while the appeal is resolved.
In charging the Uruguay international, the FA said it was “an alleged breach of FA rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview”.
The FA said this constituted an “aggravated breach as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin”.
The commission said such a failure “requires an immediate suspension of 6 to 12 games.”
In the media interview in question, in which a presenter asked him for a Tottenham shirt, Bentancur responded: “Sonny’s? It could also be Sonny’s cousin as they all look the same.”
He later apologized on social media and said his comments were a “joke in very bad taste.”
Bentancur also apologized to South Korean striker Son, who said he would “never intentionally say anything offensive.”
Spurs said in a statement: “We can confirm that the club has appealed the length of Rodrigo Bentancur’s FA suspension, issued earlier this week.
“While we accept the finding of guilt against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe that the subsequent sanction is severe.”
