Bentancur’s offence carried a punishment of a six to 12-match ban and, in its written reasons,, external the FA said the player “asked for the matter to be dealt with on the basis of written submissions only”.
A response to the charge sent by Tottenham on behalf of Bentancur said: “Rodrigo’s reply was sarcastic and a gentle rebuke for the journalist calling Sonny ‘the Korean'”.
“Rodrigo does not believe that all Koreans ‘look more or less the same’. The context of the exchange clearly shows Rodrigo is being sarcastic… Rodrigo was challenging the journalist in his description of his club team-mate.”
It was also submitted that Bentancur’s apology for his comments was “not for what he said, but for the inadequate reporting on the interview which excluded” the presenter’s reference to Son as “the Korean”.
However, the panel concluded Bentancur’s “conduct in using the words he did, in the full context in which they were used, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would amount to misconduct”.
They found that the apologies made by him appear to show he accepted he had caused offence and a statement from Spurs, external in response to his apologies “appears to have accepted that the player’s remarks had been objectively insulting and/or abusive and discriminatory”.
The panel said that they could not accept the submission of Bentancur as it “flies in the face of the evidence” and “does not sit with the content or form of the player’s apologies or the response of THFC or Son Heung-min”.
In determining the sanction, the independent regulatory commission took into account Bentancur had no previous offences, did not mean to cause offence and, “despite the submissions made on his behalf before us which tended to undermine the force of that early apology, we consider his remorse was and is genuine”.
It added: “In all the circumstances, 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.”
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said it welcomed the decision to hold Bentancur accountable for using a racial slur.
“A significant number of reports were made to Kick It Out regarding the incident at the time,” said a statement. “Highlighting how abuse directed at players from East and Southeast Asian backgrounds not only impacts the individuals involved but also affects fans in the wider community.
“It’s important we all recognise and report this type of discrimination when it happens.”
