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| Reuters Yonhap News |
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| Photo capture=더선 |
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The reason why the British Football Association (FA) rejected Tottenham's appeal over racist remarks has been revealed.
The British daily Daily Mail reported on the 20th (local time) that why Tottenham's appeal to reduce Bentancourt's seven-game suspension was rejected after Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancourt made racist comments about his teammate Son Heung-min in a TV interview.
Earlier in June, Bentancourt appeared on a broadcast in Uruguay and asked the host to save Son Heung-min's uniform "Son Heung-min's uniform? Son Heung-min wouldn't know even if he gave me his cousin's uniform. Son Heung-min and his cousin look just like each other." 'Orients all look the same' was a statement that revealed racist perceptions.
The controversy was intense. Son Heung-min openly accepted Bentancourt's apology, but the FA decided Bentancourt had committed a serious violation last month, suspending seven domestic games, including six English Premier League (EPL) games and the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup against Manchester United, and imposing a fine of 100,000 pounds (about 176 million won).
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| Rodrigo Bentancourt SNS |
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The FA said that although Bentancur denied the allegations, the disciplinary committee determined that he had violated the rules on racism and thus imposed such disciplinary action. Since disciplinary action applies only to domestic competitions, it is possible to compete in the European club competition even during the suspension period.
Tottenham accepted the FA's disciplinary action for Bentancourt's alleged racial insult, but appealed that the suspension of seven games was severe. He appealed that Bentancur's actions were naive and misjudged jokes, were not pre-planned remarks, and showed no hostility toward Son Heung-min.
There was no leniency. The FA rejected the appeal on the 17th. The FA rejected Bentancourt's appeal after hearing by the 'Independent Appeals Committee regarding the recent suspension. The seven-match suspension is maintained under the order of the Independent Regulatory Commission,' the release said.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| APYonhap News |
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As a result, Bentancourt, who has already missed five disciplinary games, missed the Carabao Cup quarter-final home game against Manchester United on the 20th and will miss the 17th round of the English Premier League (EPL) against Liverpool on the 23rd.
According to the Daily Mail, the FA Appeals Committee said on the 20th that Tottenham's lawyer emphasized that Bentancourt apologized to Son Heung-min and Son accepted the apology, saying, `We understand that this is a disciplinary mitigation factor.' However, the remarks were offensive to the entire Korean society. This point seems to have been overlooked,' he said, explaining the reason for the dismissal of the appeal.
In other words, the disciplinary action was taken in consideration of the impact on Korean society as a whole, not Son Heung-min.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
