Tottenham Hotspur star Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged by the English Football Association.
The Argentine was charged over comments made regarding Spurs teammate Son Heung Min this summer.
When speaking on Uruguayan TV, Bentacur was asked by a presenter for a Spurs shirt, to which he replied: “Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same.”
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The 27-year-old later apologised, writing: “Sonny brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke.
“You know I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you, brother!”
On his own social media, Son wrote: “I've spoken with Lolo. He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised. Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.
“We're past this, we're united and we will be back together in pre-season to fight for our club as one.”
On Thursday, it was reported that Bentancur had been charged by the FA.
A statement from the FA read: "Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview.
“It’s alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur 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.”
It continued: “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.
“Rodrigo Bentancur has until Thursday 19 September 2024 to provide a response to this charge.”
It has been claimed that Bentancur will be free to play until the conclusion of the case.
Spurs are set to return to Premier League action this weekend when they host North London rivals Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Son Heung Min, Football, Premier League
Marcus Chan