Rodrigo Bentancur breaks silence after seven-game Tottenham ban confirmed

Rodrigo Bentancur has posted on social media for the first time since he was handed a seven-game domestic ban for a racist remark made about team-mate Son Heung-min. Bentancur was charged by the Football Association on September 12 with an alleged misconduct breach relating to a TV media interview.

The 27-year-old, who joined Tottenham from Juventus in January 2022, made the comments while on international duty with Uruguay in June. Bentancur was filmed speaking in a social media clip saying that South Korean people "all look the same" in an interview conducted in Spanish on Uruguayan TV.

The host asked Bentancur if he could get him a Tottenham player's shirt to which the midfielder replied: "Sonny's?" before adding: "It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

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Although Bentancur apologised for making a "very bad joke", an independent commission panel were required to either uphold the FA charge or dismiss the case. And the independent commission came to the decision to ban the midfielder for seven domestic matches, including this weekend's trip to Manchester City and the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. Bentancur will be available for Europa League matches against Roma and Rangers, however, as that doesn't count as part of the suspension.

After it was confirmed that Bentancur will serve a seven-game ban, the Uruguay international took to social media and posted for the first time. He shared Manuel Ugarte's Instagram story - which showed him on international duty with Uruguay - but decided against adding a caption.

Bentancur's ban was enforced 10 weeks since his initial charge. An FA spokesperson said: "An independent regulatory commission has imposed a seven-match suspension and £100,000 fine on Rodrigo Bentancur for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview.

"It was alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.

"It was further alleged that this constitutes an "aggravated breach", which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference - whether express or implied - to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.

"Rodrigo Bentancur denied this charge, but the independent Regulatory Commission found it to be proven and imposed his sanctions following a hearing."