Tottenham have appealed the length of the seven-match ban given to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur by the English Football Association (FA) for comments he made about teammate Son Heung-Min in a television interview earlier this year.
Bentancur, 27, was handed a seven-game suspension and a £100,000 ($126,710) fine by the FA on Tuesday for using abusive language and bringing the game into disrepute during a Spanish-language interview on Uruguayan television in June.
The charge by the FA stemmed from a clip posted on social media after Bentancur was interviewed on Uruguayan Television programme “Por La Camiseta.” Host Rafa Cotelo asked Bentancur for a Spurs player’s shirt, to which he replied, “Sonny’s?” [Son Heung-Min], adding: “It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
He denied the FA charge. Spurs have said that they accept the charge, but believe the length of the ban given to the Uruguay international is too harsh.
“We can confirm that the Club has appealed against the length of Rodrigo Bentancur’s FA suspension, issued earlier this week,” Spurs said in a statement on Wednesday.
“While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe.
“Rodrigo will remain suspended from domestic competitions while the appeal is heard and the Club will make no further comment during this time.”
The ban, if it is upheld, does not apply to European competitions, meaning Bentancur can still play against Roma and Rangers in the Europa League, but he would miss Premier League clashes with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as a Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United.