Tottenham loses Bentancur ban appeal over racist comment against South Koreans | Football news

The FA has rejected Tottenham’s request to reduce Rodrigo Bentancur’s ban for racist comments.

Tottenham have lost their appeal against Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match ban for making an offensive comment about the South Koreans in relation to a comment about Tottenham teammate Son Heung-min.

The Football Association said on Tuesday Tottenham Call He was dismissed after a hearing and the penalty still stands, and the reasons for the decision will be published soon.

At Bentancur He has already been suspended for five home matchesHe will miss the English League Cup quarter-final match against Manchester United on Thursday, as well as the visit of Liverpool in the English Premier League on Sunday.

During an appearance on a TV show in Uruguay in June, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player’s shirt, to which he replied: “Sonny’s shirt?” He added that he could also be Son’s cousin, as they are “somewhat similar.”

Bentancur later apologized to Son on Instagram, saying it was a “very bad joke” and that he would “never disrespect or hurt you.” The son accepted the apology.

Details of the decision published by the independent panel showed that Bentancur explained that his comments “were sarcastic and a mild rebuke” because the journalist had called his teammate a “Korean” and that he had challenged the journalist’s description of Son.

However, the regulatory committee wrote in its conclusions that “even on the basis of the player’s evidence and submissions, we consider that the player’s conduct in using the words he said, in the full context in which they were used, was clearly offensive and ‘offensive, amounting to misconduct.’”

The commission added that it also took into account the fact that Bentancur did not intend to offend Son or anyone else.

The committee also issued a fine of $126,000 to Bentancur.