Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur facing 7 game ban for 'alleged racial slur'

Reports state that the FA is close to confirming that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur will face a seven game ban for an 'alleged racial slur' against team mate Heung-min Son.

The news will come as a major blow to Spurs who are now likely to be without one of their star players for a significant period of the remainder of the year.

The ban comes after a comment Bentancur is alleged to have made over the summer on Uruguay television towards his Spurs team mate and club captain, Heung-min Son.

Bentancur is set for a ban over an alleged comment he made on Uruguayan TV towards South Koreans when asked a question about Spurs left-winger Son.

Appearing on the show in June 2024, Bentancur was asked for a Spurs' players shirt, before he made a joke about Son and other South Koreans.

Below is an exert taken from the Daily Mail's article on the story, which covers what Bentancur is alleged to have said.

Appearing on the show in his homeland in June, Bentancur was asked for a Tottenham player’s jersey and replied, ‘Sonny’s?’ - referencing his team-mate Son Heung-min. He then added it could be Son’s cousin, too, because ‘more or less they are all the same.’ 

After the incident, the FA said that it was going to be charging Bentancur for an 'aggravated breach' of its rules, with it now being reported that the Uruguayan midfielder is close to being handed a lengthy ban.

Bentancur has played in ten of Spurs' 11 games this season, so news that he could be out for seven games in the near future will come as a blow to Ange Postecoglu and his side.

The midfielder did commented on the matter over the summer, stating that he made a 'very bad joke' whilst delivering a heartfelt apology on social media.

Son then spoke about the matter shortly afterwards, stating that Rodrigo was close to crying when he apologised to him. The club captain said that people make mistakes and confirmed there's was no bad blood between him and the midfielder.

'When we came back for pre-season he felt really sorry, and almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.'

Spurs are one of the front-runners in the Premier League top four race, but that may take a hit now that Rodrigo could potentially be missing for a quite a few games.

The ban has yet to be confirmed yet, and is just based on reports right now, but below are the domestic fixtures that Bentancur will be absent for if he is banned during the international break and made to serve it immediately.

• Man City v Tottenham - Premier League - November 23
• Tottenham v Fulham - Premier League - December 1
• Bournemouth v Tottenham - Premier League - December 5
• Tottenham v Chelsea - Premier League - December 8
• Southampton v Tottenham - Premier League - December 15
• Tottenham v Man United - Carabao Cup - December 19
• Tottenham v Liverpool - Premier League - December 22

However, as noted, the ban has yet to be officially confirmed by the FA yet, so the specifics of it aren't quite clear as of now.

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