Tottenham’s Bentancur Receives Seven Games Ban Over Racial Slur
Tottenham midfielder, Rodrigo Bentancur has received a seven-match domestic suspension from the Football Association (FA) for allegedly using a racial slur about teammate Son Heung-min.
In addition to the ban, Bentancur has been fined £100,000 and ordered to attend a mandatory face-to-face education program. The FA charged him in September following comments he made during a television appearance in Uruguay in June.
“Rodrigo Bentancur denied the charge, but an independent regulatory commission found it to be proven and imposed the sanctions after a hearing,” stated an FA announcement.
The 27-year-old will be sidelined from domestic play until December 26, missing key Premier League fixtures against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea, as well as Tottenham’s League Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United. However, he remains eligible for Tottenham’s Europa League matches.
This season, Bentancur has made 15 appearances for Tottenham and scored his first goal of the campaign in a loss to Ipswich on November 11.
The incident, which occurred outside of his club duties, falls under the FA’s jurisdiction due to his playing in England. This differs from Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez’s case, which involves a video posted during international duty with Argentina. Fernandez is being investigated by FIFA after the French Football Federation (FFF) reported the video contained an alleged “racist and discriminatory” chant during Argentina’s Copa America celebrations.
