Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with a breach of Football Association (FA) rules over comments he made relating to Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Son Heung-min in an interview.
The midfielder later apologised after saying that South Korean international Son and his cousins “all look the same” during a TV broadcast on Por la Camiseta, which is broadcast in his native Uruguay.
The Uruguay international said of the Spurs club captain, “Sonny, or a cousin of Sonny, they all look the same” before issuing an apology to the 31-year-old on social media.
“Sony, brother! I am sorry for what happened, it was a joke in bad taste,” Bentancur said. “You know that I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone. I love you brother!”
Tottenham later released a statement saying that Son wanted to “draw a line under the incident”.
“We are extremely proud of our diverse, global fanbase and playing squads,” they added. “Discrimination of any kind has no place at our club, within our game or within wider society.”
Following a comment from Rodrigo Bentancur in an interview video clip and the player’s subsequent public apology, the Club has been providing assistance in ensuring a positive outcome on the matter. This will include further education for all players in line with our diversity,… pic.twitter.com/HOkdu50n9p
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 20, 2024
An FA statement on Thursday read: “Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.
“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.”
Bentancur has until September 19 to provide a response to the charge.
Bentancur has made two appearances for Tottenham so far this season, missing the game with Everton after suffering a head injury in the previous match, a draw with Leicester City.
Spurs return to action against north London rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
GO DEEPER
Are Spurs sending the wrong message by banning Bissouma but not Bentancur?
(Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
