Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur could face a 12-game ban for an off-field incident
Tottenham Hotspur star Rodrigo Bentancur landed in hot water for his off-field actions in June.
The 27-year-old suggested that all South Korean people “look the same” during a Uruguayan TV interview. The host of the Canal 10 show had asked him for a Tottenham shirt, to which he replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
The Uruguay international apologized to Son Heung-min and his followers on Instagram after anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said it had received a “significant number” of complaints over the central midfielder’s distasteful remarks. Son accepted his apology and insisted that Rodrigo Bentancur had “made a mistake”.
Despite the player’s apology, the FA have decided to charge him. As per a report from The Standard, Rodrigo Bentancur is facing a 12-match ban from the FA for his racist remarks earlier this year.
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While the matter has been internally settled down between the two Spurs players and boss Ange Postecoglou has insisted that Bentancur should be allowed to atone for his mistake, former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes the potential 12-game ban would be a fair punishment for the South American. He has further added that there should be “no room” for racism in the game.
“We work so hard on kicking racism out of football. We’ve said for a very long time that there’s no room for it. There’s no place in the game for it at all,” Robinson said in an exclusive interview with Tottenham News.
“So, an apology doesn’t suffice. What can be passed off, in some peoples’ eyes, as dressing room banter doesn’t wash anymore. There has to be a fair punishment for what he’s done.”
Robinson is spot on with his views on Bentancur! Truth be told, there should not be racism in any workplace including our beautiful game.
The Uruguayan ace knows he crossed a line with his remarks in June and he could be banned from six to twelve games if proven guilty or if the charge is not disputed. He has until September 19 to respond to the charges.
Injury problems, inconsistency and off-field issues have not allowed Bentancur to showcase his true potential at our club since he arrived from Juventus in January 2022. He ruptured the ACL in his left knee in Spurs’ 4-1 win over Leicester City back in February 2023 which ruled him out for several months.
The £75,000-per-week man has been slapped with a four-game international ban for his involvement in ugly scenes after the Copa America semi-final clash between Uruguay and Colombia. During Spurs’ 2024/25 season-opener against Leicester City, he suffered a clash of heads with Abdul Fatawu and missed the next game due to concussion protocol.
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Now, it appears Bentancur is set to face a hefty ban, and rightly so for the remarks he made about South Koreans. And if that happens, it would be a huge blow for Big Ange, who himself is under a lot of pressure after our club’s extremely disappointing start to the new campaign.
