Tottenham appeal length of Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match ban

Tottenham Hotspur have appealed the length of Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match ban after the midfielder was found guilty of making a racial slur against team captain Heung-min Son.

Spurs submitted an appeal to the FA, who have also imposed a £100,000 fine on the Uruguay international, in hopes of having the suspension reduced.

However, the club has accepted the charge against the player.

According to FA guidelines, the minimum ban for the use of discriminatory language is six matches.

It remains unclear whether Tottenham has requested that the ban be paused until the appeal is heard, which could allow Bentancur to play against Manchester City this weekend.

Bentancur, who denied the charge, explained that his comment was intended as a “sarcastic” and “gentle rebuke” to a TV reporter who referred to Son as “the Korean.”

However, an independent FA commission found him guilty of an aggravated breach of their misconduct rules.

The incident occurred in June during a filming session at Bentancur’s home with journalist Rafa Cotelo, who asked for “the Korean’s shirt.”

In response, Bentancur said: “Sonny? Or one of Sonny’s cousins, as they all look more or less the same.”

The written judgment, published on Monday, revealed that Tottenham provided a submission to the commission in which they argued Bentancur’s comment was meant as a “jocular generalisation” and did not cross the line into misconduct.

Tottenham claimed: “Rodrigo’s reply was sarcastic and a gentle rebuke for the journalist calling Sonny ‘the Korean’. Rodrigo does not believe that all Koreans ‘look more or less the same.’

“The context of the exchange clearly shows Rodrigo is being sarcastic. It was Mr Cotelo who described Sonny as ‘the Korean.’ In the context of the conversation, it was obvious that Mr Cotelo was referring to Sonny as ‘the Korean’ and Rodrigo was challenging the journalist in his description of his club team-mate.”

However, the defence presented was rejected by the commission, which handed down a hefty punishment to Bentancur.

As a result, pending the outcome of the appeal, he will miss upcoming fixtures against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton, Manchester United (in the Carabao Cup), and Liverpool.

Bentancur will still be eligible to play in the Europa League, though.

Ange Postecoglou’s team will host Roma on November 28 and then travel to Glasgow to face Rangers in mid-December.

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