Wat-Not Staff
The English Football Association charged Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur with misconduct on Thursday, three months after he made a derogatory statement about South Koreans in response to a remark about his Tottenham Hotspur colleague Son Heung-min.
The comment that spurred allegations
When asked for a Tottenham player’s shirt during an appearance on a Uruguayan television program in June, Bentancur said, “Sonny’s?” He continued, saying that since “more or less they are all the same,” it might also be Son’s cousin. On Instagram, Bentancur expressed his regret to Son, calling it a “very bad joke” and promising to “never disrespect you or hurt you.”
Bentancur is accused of having “acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute,” according to the FA. The FA said that because it contained “reference to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin,” it constituted an aggravated infringement. Bentancur is still able to play, but he has until September 19 to respond. Son said his teammate had “made a mistake”.
Bentancur career as a football player
Born on June 25, 1997, Rodrigo Bentancur Colman is a football player from Uruguay who plays central midfield for both the Uruguay national team and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. In 2009, Bentancur started playing football with the Boca Juniors junior academy in Argentina.
After being elevated to the first squad in 2015, he played a key role in the team’s two Primera División championships as well as its Copa Argentina. He relocated to Juventus in Italy in 2017, where he played for five years and took home numerous domestic prizes in addition to three Serie A crowns.
Upon his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur in January 2022. Internationally, Bentancur played for Uruguay’s U20 team and won the 2017 South American U-20 Championship. In that same year, he made his Uruguayan senior debut. He has since gone on to represent his nation in the FIFA World Cups in 2018 and 2022, as well as the Copa América competitions in 2019–2021–2024.
FA charges on Bentancur
According to an FA statement, Bentancur was accused of breaking one of the organization’s rules regarding a media appearance. The Tottenham midfielder is said to have violated FA Rule E3.1 by acting improperly, using abusive or insulting language, or bringing the sport into disrepute, according to the statement.
It is further claimed that because there was a reference to nationality, ethnicity, or ethnic origin—whether explicitly stated or implied—this constituted an “aggravated breach,” as described by FA Rule E3.2.
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