Tottenham has formally appealed the seven-game suspension imposed on midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur for his controversial remarks regarding teammate Son Heung-min.
The Football Association announced the suspension on Monday, which will exclude Bentancur from six Premier League matches and a League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United.
Bentancur, 27, was charged with misconduct in September following a television interview in June, during which his comments about Son's race were deemed an aggravated breach.
In response to the suspension, Tottenham expressed dissatisfaction with the length of the ban and issued a statement on Wednesday indicating their intention to appeal.
“While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe,” the statement noted.
During the interview, Bentancur was asked to display the shirt of a Tottenham player and responded, “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.” Following the incident, he apologized to Son on Instagram, which Son accepted in a subsequent statement.
South Korea's captain stated, “I’ve spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologized. Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.”
In addition to the suspension, Bentancur was fined £100,000 ($126,000), with the disciplinary panel emphasizing that he should have anticipated the widespread distribution of his comments. The panel acknowledged his sincere apology and clean disciplinary history as mitigating factors.
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