Bentancur of Tottenham charged with misconduct for comments he made against teammate Son

Rodrigo Bentancur, a midfielder for Tottenham, was charged by the Football Association on Thursday for allegedly breaking the rules on misconduct after making a comment against his teammate Son Heung-min on Uruguayan TV.

When the host of the Canal 10 program asked the Uruguayan international in June for a Spurs player’s shirt, he responded, “Sonny’s? Given their similar appearances, it might also be Sonny’s relative.

A “significant number” of complaints against the comment have been received, according to the British anti-discrimination nonprofit Kick It Out.

The South Korea international and Spurs captain accepted Bentancur’s apology, stating that his teammate had “made a mistake.”

A statement from the FA said Bentancur had been charged with an alleged breach of its rules in relation to a media interview.

“It’s alleged that the Tottenham 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,” the statement said.

“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 has until September 19 to provide a response to the charge.

Former Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani was banned for three games and fined £100,000 ($130,000) in 2020 for using the Spanish term “negrito” (small black person) in a social media post.