Team mate Rodrigo Bentancourt, who was eventually punished for making racist remarks to Son Heung-min (Tottenham), was under fire for making absurd excuses.
The English Football Association (FA) announced on the 18th that Bentancourt, who made racist remarks to Son Heung-min, was suspended for seven games, fined 100,000 pounds (about 175.55 million won), and ordered to participate in a compulsory face-to-face education program. The FA said on its website, “Bentancourt denied the allegations, but after a hearing, the independent regulatory committee decided to confirm the violation of FA regulations E3 in relation to media interviews and took disciplinary action.”
Bentancourt, who hails from Uruguay, appeared on a Uruguayan television program in June and sparked controversy with her remarks related to Son Heung-min. Bentancourt, who was asked to get Son Heung-min’s uniform by the host at the time, said, “You won’t know even if I bring you his cousin’s uniform. Son Heung-min and his cousin all look the same.” It was a rude remark with a racist perception that “all Asians look the same.”
Afterwards, Bentancourt left a message of apology on his social networking service (SNS). He said, “Sonny! I apologize for what happened. What I said was a bad joke. You know how much I love you, right? I didn’t mean to ignore you or hurt you.” The incident seemed to be put to an end when Son accepted Bentancourt’s apology through SNS. However, as the Kick It Out, a football-based anti-racism organization, spread controversy, such as delivering various information on the incident to the Tottenham club and the authorities, Bentancourt was eventually given disciplinary action.
However, according to the minutes of the disciplinary meeting released by the FA, Bentancourt did not admit his fault but rather made excuses and excuses. According to the report, Bentancourt insisted through 바로벳 that “what I said was to gently scold the host for being racist.” Bentancourt said, “At the time, the host just called Son a Korean. I meant to generalize Asian people. I just turned it gently to scold him.” In other words, she meant that she did not make racist remarks to Son.
What was even more absurd was his remarks on an apology to Son Heung-min after the incident broke out. Bentancourt claimed, “It was not an apology for my remarks, but an apology for only being edited and reported in part of the interview.” In other words, it was revealed that the apology to Son Heung-min was not sincere.
However, the FA was not swayed by Bentancourt’s excuse. Even after listening to Bentancourt, the FA unanimously confirmed Bentancourt’s disciplinary action. According to the minutes, the FA explained, “The independent regulatory committee decided Bentancourt’s disciplinary action, considering all circumstances. We only saw an objective evaluation.”