By Humberto Viera
Sep 12, 2024, 8:43 PM EDT
Tottenham Hotspur’s Uruguayan footballer Rodrigo Bentancur has been accused of “inappropriate conduct” by the English Football Association (FA) for a comment considered racist towards his teammate, Heung-min Son.
The incident occurred during an interview in which, when the interviewer asked Bentancur for a shirt of Son, the Uruguayan replied: “Or any cousin of Sonny, they all look a lot alike,” which was interpreted as a reference to the Korean player’s nationality or ethnicity.
This response was flagged for breaching FA rules, which prohibit discriminatory references based on a person’s race, nationality or ethnicity. Following this, anti-racism organisations in England, such as Kick it Out, condemned Bentancur’s statement, leading the player to issue a public apology.
In his apology, Bentancur wrote on social media: “I would like to give my sincere apologies to all the fans and those who felt offended. I spoke to Son and, given our friendship, he understands that it was a misunderstanding. I never intended to offend anyone.” Son himself confirmed that Bentancur acknowledged his mistake and apologized: “We are brothers and nothing has changed,” added the South Korean, downplaying the incident.
Such incidents have been strictly sanctioned by the FA in the past. Similar cases include Edinson Cavani and Bernardo Silva, who were also penalised for inappropriate comments. Cavani received a three-match ban and a £100,000 fine for referring to a friend with the term “negrito”, while Silva was banned for one match and £50,000 for comparing teammate Benjamin Mendy to a “conguito”.
However, the FA has been criticised for a lack of consistency in its sanctions. One example of this was Alejandro Garnacho, who was not punished after using a gorilla emoji next to a photo of team-mate Andre Onana, sparking controversy over the perception of unequal treatment in such cases.
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