Rodrigo Bentancourt (Tottenham), who was called up for the Uruguay national team, expressed his position on the suspension.
Britain's 「Daily Mail" and"The Sun" reported on the 13th (Korea Standard Time) that Bentancourt was reportedly suspended from seven domestic tournaments for racist remarks against"Captain" Son Heung-min. However, there was no official announcement from the English Football Association (FA).
Bentancourt held an interview in Uruguay on the 14th. He said 'ESPN Deportes' that my agent called to be notified of the disciplinary action. However, there was no contact from Tottenham.
Bentancourt continued "I knew to some extent that I had already left my hand. Disciplinary action has been taken, and I want to keep calm in the national team. I'll see when it's time for me to go back."
Bentancourt's A-match ban was lifted this time. He was suspended for four games after throwing a water bottle while some Uruguayan players, including Darwin Núñez, rushed into the opponent's stands and collided after the Copa America semifinals against Colombia in July. Bentancourt, who missed four A matches in September and October, was called back in November.
Reuters Yonhap News
EPA Yonhap News
Bentancur was indicted by the FA in September for a controversial interview. He appeared on Uruguay's broadcast in June during the break, and when the host was asked to 'Save Son Heung-min's uniform', he would not know even if he brought his cousin's uniform " It looks just like Son Heung-min or his cousin."
'Orients all look the same' was a statement of racist perception. It immediately became controversial, and Bentancourt apologized. He posted on his SNS page, "'Sonny, I'm sorry for everything that happened. It was a bad joke. I love you. Don't you know I'll never ignore you or hurt anyone else. I said I love you, but the 'angry fan spirit' didn't cool down.
In the end, Son Heung-min started to evolve. He spoke with Bentancourt on his social media. He made a mistake, and apologized when he knew it. 'He didn't intend to say anything offending on purpose. We are brothers and nothing has changed. And 'I said, 'I'm going to get through this, I'm going to be united, I'm going to come together in the preseason and fight for our club as one.'"
Reuters Yonhap News
Reuters Yonhap News
However, disciplinary action was inevitable. The FA asked the disciplinary committee to ban 6-12 games, and it seems that it has been decided to play 7 games. Once the disciplinary action is officially announced, Bentancur will not be able to play until mid-December.
This means that he will miss the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool as well as the English Premier League (EPL). For Tottenham, it's an emergency on a murderous schedule.
Son Heung-min is also not at ease. He also covered Bentancur ahead of the Europa League (UEL) KarabakhFK match in September. Son Heung-min can't say much because the FA is investigating. But I love Bentancourt"We have many good memories. He apologized immediately after the incident. I was at home and I didn't even know what was going on. He sent me a long text message. I felt the sincerity. Bentancourt felt really sorry when he returned to the team and met again. Bentancourt apologized to me almost crying. He seemed really sorry", he defended.
And "We're all human beings and we make mistakes. Learn there. Again, I love him. As you know, he made a mistake. But I have no problem at all. We are colleagues, friends and brothers. We just move forward together."
If the seven-game disciplinary action is officially announced, Bentancourt can only return to the game against Nottingham Forest on the 27th of next month during the 'Boxing Day' week.
