Rodrigo Bentancur’s appeal regarding his seven-match suspension for a racist comment about teammate Heung-Min Son in a television interview has been dismissed.
The Uruguayan midfielder was suspended by an independent commission on November 18 and two days later, Spurs indicated they would appeal.
Spurs said in a statement that they accepted the guilty verdict against Bentancur, but believed the subsequent sanction was severe. The 27-year-old was also fined £100,000 by the Football Association as part of the punishment.
However, his domestic suspension will remain in place following the appeal decision, and he will miss Spurs’ upcoming matches against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup quarter-final and the Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Bentancur, who has still been able to play in the Europa League, has missed games against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Southampton. He will be available to play again for Spurs in the Premier League at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
An FA statement said: “An independent appeals board has dismissed an appeal brought by Rodrigo Bentancur in relation to his recent suspension.
“An independent regulatory commission imposed a seven-match suspension on the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder for an aggravated breach of FA rule E3 in relation to a media interview.
“This appeal was dismissed after a hearing and the seven-match suspension remains in place as ordered by the regulatory commission.”
Tottenham do not want to comment on the dismissal of their appeal.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou will face the media tomorrow ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final match against Manchester United on Thursday.
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Ange Postecoglou said Tottenham were right to appeal Rodrigo Bentancur’s ban and the club would support him during his suspension
Bentancur was sanctioned for comments he made in an interview broadcast on Uruguayan television in June.
The former Juventus midfielder was asked to show a Spurs player’s shirt and replied: “Sonny’s? It could also be Sonny’s cousin as they all look the same.”
While Bentancur quickly apologized as it was an “aggravated offence”, an independent regulatory commission panel was required to confirm the FA’s charge or dismiss the case.
Son said he and Bentancur were still “brothers” and that “nothing had changed” after the Uruguayan immediately apologized to him, admitting he had “made a mistake.”
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Kick It Out CEO Samuel Okafor said Rodrigo Bentancur’s comments about Heung-Min Son should be taken seriously.
“I have spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows it and he has apologized,” said the South Korean captain.
“Lolo never intentionally wanted to say anything offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.
“We have already overcome this, we are united and we will be together again in the preseason to fight as one for our club.”
Kick It Out/Frank Soo Foundation: Spurs appeal ‘prolonged the pain’
Anti-discrimination campaign Kick It Out issued a joint statement with the Frank Soo Foundation following the FA’s Independent Appeal Board’s decision to dismiss the appeal against Bentancur’s seven-match suspension.
“Kick It Out received more reports about Tottenham’s decision to appeal the discrimination sanction imposed on Rodrigo Bentancur than about the original incident itself,” the statement read.
“Many of the reports from the community in East and Southeast Asia and beyond told us how angry and disappointed they were with the club’s actions and how they spread the pain to those who were affected by the original incident.
“We know this has been a disturbing episode for many fans and we hope the club will now reflect on its decision and how it might try to engage with the community.
“The number of reports to Kick It Out in recent seasons shows that more education is needed to highlight East and South East Asian racism in football, and we urge clubs to address this in the same way as other forms of discrimination.
“We await with great interest the written reasons for the dismissal of the appeal.”
