Premier League star charged over racist remark

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged by the Football Association for an alleged misconduct break after he made a remark about his club teammate Son Heung-min.

Back in June, the Uruguayan international was asked by the host of Canal 10 show for a Spurs player’s shirt, to which the midfielder replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”

Following the incident, the anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out said it received a ‘significant number’ of complaints. It’s said that Bentancur has apologised to his teammate and club captain with Son adding that his teammate ‘made a mistake’.

At the time of the incident, Spurs took to their social media page to post: “Following a comment from Rodrigo Bentancur in an interview video clip and the player’s subsequent public apology, the Club has been providing assistance in ensuring a positive outcome on the matter. This will include further education for all players in line with our diversity, equality and inclusion objectives. “We fully support that our captain Sonny feels that he can draw a line under the incident and that the team can focus on the new season ahead. We are extremely proud of our diverse, global fanbase and playing squads. Discrimination of any kind has no place at our Club, within our game or within wider society.”

The post also included comments from Son himself with the South Korean international star saying: “I’ve spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised.

“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 preseason to fight for our club as one.”

Following the recent news that 27-year-old has now been charged, a statement from the FA said: “Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.

“It’s alleged that the Tottenham midfielder has breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manager and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.

“It’s further alleged that this constitutes as ‘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 has until Thursday 19 September 2024 to provide a response to this charge.”

Bentancur has been part of the Spurs set-up since 2022, making 60 Premier League appearances for the club since moving from Juventus. The central midfielder also has 65 international appearances and most recently came on as a substitute in Spurs’ 2-1 defeat to Newcastle.