Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with “misconduct in relation to a media interview” by the Football Association following his comments about Spurs captain Son Heung-min this summer.
Bentancur apologised in June after the Uruguay international appeared to say all South Korean people “look the same” in an interview with a Uruguayan TV station. The 27-year-old apologised to Son on Instagram, calling his comments a “very bad joke”.
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 Hotspur midfielder has 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’s 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.”
Bentancur, who has made two appearances for Tottenham this season, has until Thursday 19 September to respond to the charge.
In the clip from Uruguayan TV show Por La Camiseta, Bentancur was asked by the host for a Tottenham player’s shirt and responded: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too. They all look the same.”
After the clip went viral on social media, Bentancur took to his Instagram story and posted an apology. “[Sonny] brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke!” he said.
“You know I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you brother!”
Tottenham issued a statement following the controversy, which included quotes attributed to Son.
“I’ve spoken with Lolo. He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised,” Son said.
“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.”
Tottenham said: “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 in this 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.”
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