Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, a former Juventus player who currently plays for Tottenham, has been banned for seven matches by the English Football Association (FA) after being accused of racist abuse towards South Korean teammate Son Heung-min. Bentancur was also ordered to pay a fine of £100.000 (around €120.000).
The story began last June, when, during an interview with a Uruguayan TV station, Bentancur, speaking about Son, joked by saying: "Sonny? He could be his cousin too, since they all look the same.
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According to the prosecution, the former Juventus player also violated rule E3.2, as his words contained an implicit or explicit reference to nationality, race, or ethnicity. Although Bentancur denied the accusation, the independent regulatory commission deemed the violation proven and decided to impose the sanction. With this decision, Bentancur will miss important league matches, including the clashes against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as the League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. His suspension will end on December 26.
This story is reminiscent of that of Edinson Cavani, who in 2020, during his time at Manchester United, was suspended for three games and fined for writing on Instagram "Thank you, negrito" in a post addressed to a friend. Even in that case, Cavani's justifications, who explained that "negrito" in Uruguay it has no racist connotations, they were not enough to avoid the sanction.
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