Tottenham Hotspur appeal Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game ban 

Tottenham Hotspur have appealed against Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-game ban for comments he made about teammate Son Heung-min.

Bentancur was given a seven-game ban from domestic matches and fined £100,000 ($127k) by an independent commission. This is after being found to have used “insulting words,” which were considered an aggravated breach of the FA’s rules as they referred to “ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality.”

Bentancur had said, with reference to Son, “Sonny, or one of Sonny’s cousins, as they all look more or less the same” in an interview on Uruguayan TV in June.”

Tottenham were informed of the FA’s decision on November 12. They had 14 days to decide whether to appeal against the decision or the sanction.

They have decided to accept the decision but appeal against the sanction. They hope to get the ban reduced. There is likely only a chance to reduce the ban by one game. The FA Standard Minimum ban for using discriminatory language is six games, a guideline set in 2020.

Usually, a regulatory commission can issue a shorter ban for comments made in writing or through a “communication device”. For instance, in 2020 when Edinson Cavani received a three-game ban for a comment on Instagram. However, this doesn’t apply here, as Bentancur’s comments were made in a TV interview.

The length of the ban, within the six- to twelve-game range, is determined by aggravating and mitigating factors.

“We consider that, in terms of culpability and consequences, this breach falls towards the lower end of the guideline range but not the lowest point.” the commission said of Bentancur’s offence.

“Cases can easily be envisaged which are less serious than this. Nevertheless subject to the minimum suspension of six matches.”

Aggravating factors included Bentancur being a high-profile international footballer in the Premier League. Plus the fact his comments were made to a well-known journalist with a large online audience.

Tottenham can request the sanction be set aside while the appeal is pending. This could allow Bentancur to play against Manchester City this Saturday. If the ban is already in effect and reduced from seven to six games, Bentancur could return to face Liverpool on December 22.”