Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Rodrigo Bentancur, has been given a seven-match ban and fined £100,000 following a comment he made in an interview about teammate, Heung-min Son.
According to a report by the English Football Association (FA) on Monday, Bentancur, in an interview with Uruguayan journalist Rafa Cotelo, said that South Korean international Son and his cousins “all look more or less the same.”
Those comments, which Bentancur and Son clarified did not have any malicious intent, were still deemed by the FA as “an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute” because it made reference to Son’s ethnicity.
Bentancur has since apologised for the comment which was made earlier this year, referring to it in an Instagram post as “an unfortunate misunderstanding” and adding that “all has been clarified and solved with my friend (Son).”
Bentancur’s suspension begins on Saturday when Tottenham faces Manchester City. He will be eligible to play again against Nottingham Forest on December 26, as well as in Europa League games.
The 27-year-old has made 14 appearances for Tottenham this season, scoring in the club’s 2-1 defeat against Ipswich on November 10.
Meanwhile, the Premier League club stated that it “fully support(s)” Son and would be providing “further education for all players in line with our diversity, equality and inclusion objectives.”