Rodrigo Bentancur showed no remorse for racism towards Son Heung-min.
The English Football Association (FA) officially announced on the 19th (Korea Standard Time) that “the Independent Regulatory Commission imposed a seven-game suspension and a fine of 100,000 pounds (about 180 million won) on Bentancourt for violating FA Regulation E3 in connection with media interviews.”
“Ventancourt denied the allegations of racism, but the committee determined that Bentancourt’s racism was proven and imposed a discharge rule,” he explained.
Bentancourt said it was not to discriminate against Son but to reprimand the host of the event. This summer, Bentancourt appeared on Uruguayan media outlet “Por la Camiseta.”
The host asked for Son’s uniform, and Bentancourt replied, “You won’t know even if I bring you Son’s cousin’s uniform. He looks just like Son Heung-min or his cousin.” It was claimed that he mentioned Son to point out that the host described him as a “Korean.”
However, it is true that Bentancourt made a racist remark no matter what the intention was. It was a racist remark that pointed out the appearance of Asians, meaning that they all look alike. The soccer community is striving to eliminate racism, but the scene showed that people still lose awareness of it.
Bentancur also posted an apology. “Sony, I’m sorry for everything that happened. It was a bad joke. I love you. Don’t you know I will never ignore you or hurt anyone else? I love you.”
Bentancourt’s apology did not calm down the anger of the fans. Bentancourt’s apology automatically disappeared after 24 hours. Later, Bentancourt released a photo of the Uruguay national team on her SNS. She even posted a picture of herself smiling with her teammates. Tottenham Hotspur and Son Heung-min did not offer any position.
Son was the first to express his stance on Bentancourt’s controversy over racism. Son said on his SNS, “I contacted Bentancourt. He made the mistake. He apologized after learning this. Bentancourt had no intention of saying anything offending. We are brothers and nothing has changed. We overcame this and became one. I will fight for the club as one again in the pre-season.”
Soon after Son’s statement came out, Tottenham also made moves. Tottenham announced on its official SNS, “After Bentancourt’s video of the interview and the player’s public apology, the 플러스카지노 club is providing support to ensure a positive outcome on this matter. Discrimination of any kind has no place in our club, in our game, or in a wider society.”
Ahead of this season’s first match against Karabakh in the UEFA Europa League phase, Son was asked about Bentancourt’s racism. Son said, “I love Bentancourt. We have a lot of good memories. Bentancourt apologized immediately after learning about it. I didn’t even know what had happened because I was on vacation. He sent me a long text message. It was from the bottom of his heart.”
He continued, “After that, I met him at the training site and he was almost crying. He was really sorry. We are all human beings and make mistakes. I love Bentancur and we will move forward together as brothers. Now I just wait for the FA’s process. That’s all I can say.” But Bentancur, who was looking down, was not repenting for his wrongdoings.