Tottenham are resigned to Rodrigo Bentancur being given a lengthy ban of at least six matches by the Football Association for making an allegedly racist remark about his teammate Son Heung-min.
The 27-year-old midfielder was charged with an “aggravated breach” of FA rules in September for offensive comments made during a television interview broadcast in Uruguay in June, when he said that Son and his South Korea teammates “all look the same”.
In the interview Bentancur was asked to provide a Tottenham shirt belonging to Son, to which he replied: “Sonny’s or a cousin of Sonny’s? They all look the same, more or less.”
Bentancur apologised to Son privately shortly after the interview was broadcast, as well as issuing a public apology on social media.
“Sonny brother! I am sorry for what happened, it was a joke in bad taste,” he wrote on social media. “You know that I love you and would never disrespect you, or hurt you or anyone. I love you brother!”
The FA charged Bentancur with using abusive language and acting in a manner which brought the game into disrepute, adding that it was an aggravated breach as it allegedly involved references to nationality, race or ethnic origin.
Tottenham are understood to have questioned the FA’s jurisdiction to charge Bentancur as the comments were made when the player was on international duty, but following a private hearing by an independent commission the club are now resigned to a guilty verdict.
The FA increased the minimum sanction for the use of racist language to six matches in 2019, with Tottenham fearful that Bentancur could get a longer ban. Tottenham’s next six Premier League games are against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool, while they also have a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United next month.
A lengthy ban would be a major blow for manager Ange Postecoglou, as Bentancur has played in 10 of Tottenham’s 11 Premier League games so far this season.
Bentancur’s relationship with Son has seemingly not been damaged as a result of the interview, with the Tottenham captain revealing in September that his teammate “almost cried” when apologising to him. “I love Rodrigo,” Son said. “I repeat, I love him, I love him.”
Tottenham declined to comment.
