November 19 – The severity of the seven-game ban meted out to Tottenham Hotspur’s Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has prompted widespread dismay and bewilderment throughout the English sport with authorities accused of inconsistency verging on victimisation.
Bentancur was banned for utilizing a racial slur about Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min, fined £100,000 and ordered to participate in a compulsory training programme, unable to play for his membership once more (besides in Europe) till Boxing Day.
The incident – through which Bentancur mentioned Son was indistinguishable in seems to be from different South Koreans – occurred hundreds of miles away throughout a tv look in Bentancur’s native Uruguay in June, with the FA formally charging the participant in September.
The midfielder was being interviewed when a Uruguayan journalist requested: “Nicely, what concerning the Korean’s shirt?”
After questioning whether or not the journalist was asking about ‘Sonny’, Bentancur then added: “Or one in all Sonny’s cousins as all of them look kind of the identical.”
Regardless of providing a swift apology, Bentancur’s case, categorised as an “aggravated breach”, required evaluation by an impartial regulatory fee panel. The panel upheld the FA’s cost despite the fact that Son, tellingly one in all Bentancur’s closest colleagues at Tottenham, backed his teammate to the hilt by accepting that the Uruguayan’s feedback had been merely a foul joke.
Certainly, Son had been eager to talk up in Bentancur’s defence. “Lolo (Rodrigo) wouldn’t imply to ever deliberately say one thing offensive. We’re brothers and nothing has modified in any respect,” he mentioned. “Once we got here again for pre-season, he felt sorry and he nearly cried when he apologised publicly and personally as effectively. He felt like he was actually sorry.”
Whether or not the punishment matches the crime is now the topic of heated debate, with Bentancur successfully sanctioned on a technicality given there have been different equally if not worse circumstances the place the perpetrators have gotten off Scot free.
The panel discovered that though Bentancur had proven “real regret”, however that he ought to have “foreseen substantial publicity” in making the joke.
However there’s a robust perception that Tottenham and the participant have been made an instance of and that his apology, along with the backing of Son, has been conveniently ignored.
Tottenham have the correct to attraction the decision however haven’t commented on the ban. But was the FA out of order to start out with, or on the very least manner excessive with the penalty?
Compared, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández escaped an FA investigation over discriminatory feedback made whereas on worldwide responsibility final summer season.
Fernandez, who has captained Chelsea since his incident, was filmed chanting racist and homophobic slurs concerning the French staff whereas on worldwide responsibility with Argentina.
Fernández’s conduct whereas celebrating profitable the Copa America was exterior the FA’s jurisdiction as a result of he was with Argentina on the time and subsequently fell beneath FIFA’s area.
And the way about Spain and Manchester Metropolis’s Rodri who, together with Alvaro Morata, was banned for one match by UEFA for chanting ‘Gibraltar is Spanish’ throughout celebrations in Madrid after their victory in opposition to England within the Euro 2024 ultimate. Once more, exterior FA jurisdiction in keeping with the letter of the legislation.
Even when the Premier League WAS concerned, Edinson Cavani was banned for simply three video games in 2021 over a social media publish through which he used the time period “negrito” after a sport whereas representing Manchester United. If that doesn’t put Bencantur’s case into perspective, nothing does.
Bentancur, the FA’s spurious argument goes, hadn’t formally been launched for worldwide responsibility so was nonetheless beneath their remit despite the fact that no English match was concerned, he wasn’t even within the nation and his feedback had been made on Uruguayan television.
The entire thing is completely absurd.
Former Crystal Palace supremo Simon Jordan, now a revered media pundit, blasted the present loophole when he instructed Talksport Radio: “You’ve received an inconsistency concerning the method through which you method these items as a result of the FA couldn’t sanction Fernandez.
“He’s taking part in within the FA’s Premier League, however as a result of he was taking part in out of their jurisdiction … he was beneath the jurisdiction of one other governance. Fernandez mentioned one thing equally as difficult at Chelsea however he will get away with it due to jurisdiction guidelines.”
And there’s the rub. If solely just a little widespread sense had prevailed as a substitute of such ridiculous heavy-handed politically appropriate inflexibility.
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