Tottenham appeal length of Rodrigo Bentancur ban over Son Heung-min comment

Tottenham Hotspur have lodged an appeal against the length of the ban handed to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur following his comments about teammate Son Heung-min. The Football Association confirmed on Monday that the 27 year old Uruguayan would face a seven-match domestic suspension, which includes six Premier League games and a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United.

Bentancur was charged with misconduct in September after a TV interview in Uruguay back in June, where he made a comment about Son's race, leading to an aggravated breach.

The club issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, stating their decision to challenge the punishment: "While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe," the statement said. "Rodrigo will remain suspended from domestic competitions while the appeal is heard and the club will make no further comment during this time."

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With the standard minimum ban for such an offence being six matches, Tottenham may be aiming to reduce the suspension by at least one game. During the interview, Bentancur was asked to show a Spurs player's shirt and responded with: "Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same."

Bentancur took to Instagram to apologise to Son for his comment, and Son, in turn, accepted the apology on the same platform. "I’ve spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised," said the South Korean captain.

"Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all. We’re past this, we’re united and we will be back together in pre-season to fight for our club as one."

Bentancur was also handed a £100,000 fine. In explaining the reason behind a seven-game suspension, the panel outlined: "We consider that, in terms of culpability and consequences, this breach falls towards the lower end of the guideline range but not the lowest point. Cases can easily be envisaged which are less serious than this, but nevertheless subject to the minimum suspension of six matches."

They considered it "reasonably foreseeable" to Bentancur that his remarks could spread on social media. However, they mitigated the punishment considering his genuine apology and clear prior record.