Uruguayan faces 6-12 match ban for ‘bad joke’
English Football Association (FA) brought charges against the midfielder Tottenham Rodrigo Bentancur in racist remarks towards his teammate Sona Heung Min.
The incident happened back in June, when Rodrigo was taking part in a talk show on Uruguayan television. The host asked Bentancur for the Korean forward’s jersey, to which he received a “witty” response:
“Sonny? That could be his cousin’s shirt too. They all look the same.”
The 27-year-old Uruguayan later apologised on social media, calling the incident a “very bad joke”. However, repentance may not save the midfielder from serious consequences.
The FA accuses Bentancur of breaching Rule E3 – “Inappropriate conduct in relation to media interviews”. The Association’s statement reads:
“It is alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder behaved in an inappropriate manner and/or used foul and/or offensive language and/or was disrespectful.”
The violation is aggravated in that it “involved a reference, explicit or implicit, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.”
Bentancur faces a six- to 12-match ban for the offence and has until September 19 to respond to the charge.
The Uruguayan has appeared on the pitch twice this season (once in the starting lineup) and was shown a yellow card. Tottenham have four points in three rounds and are in tenth place. On September 15, Spurs will host Arsenal in the North London derby.
Source: Sportarena
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