Rodrigo Bentancur given seven game ban, £100,000 fine for Son Heung-min comments

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been banned for seven matches by the Football Association (FA) and fined £100,000 for comments he made about his team-mate Son Heung-min.

Bentancur said South Korea international Son and his cousins ​​”all look the same” on TV show Por La Camiseta, which airs in his native Uruguay in June. The 27-year-old later apologized on social media.

Bentancur was charged by the FA in September and was accused of acting “in an inappropriate manner and/or using insulting and/or insulting words and/or bringing the game into disrepute.” The FA added in a statement that the charge further constituted a “serious offence” under FA Rule E3.2 as it allegedly involved references to nationality, race or ethnic origin.

Athletics Son asked during a press conference later in September about his reaction to the charge and his relationship with Bentancur.

“The process is with the FA and that’s why I can’t say much about it, but I love Rodrigo,” said Son. “I repeat: I love him, I love him.

“We had a lot of good memories, we started playing together when he came along. He apologized right after, you know, when we were on vacation.

“I was at home and I didn’t even realize what was going on. He just sent me a long text that you could tell was coming from his heart. Afterwards, when he came back to the training ground for pre-season, he felt just really upset and almost crying when he apologized publicly and also in person. It felt like he was really upset.”

Bentancur denied the FA charge, but an independent regulatory commission found him guilty and decided the punishment after a hearing.

The Uruguay international will miss Tottenham’s upcoming Premier League games against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool and their Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester United in December. He will still be available to play for them in the Europa League.

GO DEEPER

Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game ban explained: What the Spurs player did and what he will miss

(Julian Finney/Getty Images)