Rodrigo Bentancur has been suspended for 7 matches and fined £100,000 after a mouth-to- mouth incident 5 months ago. Specifically, in June, on the Por La Camiseta TV show in his native Uruguay, when asked to give Tottenham player's jersey, Bentancur replied: "To Sonny (Son Heung Min)? It could also be his cousin because they are almost all the same. After the show, the 27-year-old star apologized on social media.
In September, Bentancur was charged by the FA with improper conduct, using words to insult, offend and discredit. The FA also cited the organization's rule E3.2 and said that Bentancur's behavior was a "serious violation" because it related to nationality, race and ethnic origin.
After the FA accused Bentancur, when asked about this incident, Son Heung-min said, everything should be handled by the FA in accordance with regulations. As for the Korean striker, he said he still loves Rodrigo Bentancur very much.
"We have many beautiful memories when playing football together. The two have been true teammates on the pitch since he joined Tottenham. After that, he apologized immediately. At that time, I was at home and didn't know what had happened.
Bentancur sent me a very long message, reading it was enough to understand that those words came from the heart. Then, when he returned to the headquarters to train for the new season, Bentancur almost cried when I apologized publicly to the whole team. I felt he was truly remorseful.
We are all human and we all make mistakes. I love Bentancur very much. He can make mistakes but for me, it's okay. We are still friends, teammates and looking in the same direction so that we can all move forward together" - Son shared.
As for captain Ange Postecoglou, a few months ago, the Australian coach gave his opinion on his student's scandal this time. According to him, the FA's punishment is not just a punishment, it is highly educational, so that the players can look at it and make amends, thereby learning and gaining more experience for themselves.
With this penalty from the FA, the Uruguayan star will miss Tottenham's upcoming matches in the Premier League when they face Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool. In addition, there is the League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United in December. He can still play for Tottenham in the Europa League because this penalty is only valid in English football leagues.
