Ange Postecoglou has called for ‘understanding’ after Rodrigo Bentancur received a seven-game ban for a racial slur and hopes this suspension is reduced as the Tottenham player receives ‘education’ about his comments.
Bentancur has been sanctioned over comments towards Spurs captain Heung-Min Son he made in an interview aired on Uruguayan TV in June.
The former Juventus midfielder was asked to show the shirt of a Spurs player and replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
The 27-year-old was also fined £100,000 by the Football Association as part of the punishment and will receive an FA education course.
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Ange Postecoglou says Rodrigo Bentancur made ‘a mistake’ but believes Tottenham were right to appeal his ban
Spurs, who have appealed the ban, said in a statement that they “accept the guilty finding” against Bentancur, but “believe the subsequent sanction is severe”.
When asked whether Tottenham have taken the incident seriously enough, Postecoglou responded: “I get that people want to burn people at the stake these days but if you want real education and progress, understanding that when someone makes a mistake and pays the penalty, part of that process is education and treating it in a way that is the way forward.
“Whether it’s Rodrigo or anyone else, I’m old enough, I’ve made bigger mistakes than that mate but I’ve been able to learn from them and it’s made me a better human being because of that.”
He added: “I’ve said all along he’s made a mistake and we’ve accepted he’s made a mistake. We will accept whatever penalty comes our way – we believe the first one was a little bit harsh so we’ve appealed that. That’s our right. If you look at the punishment it’s at the low end of the scale so people who have had all the information have adjudicated it that way.
“It is worth it as that’s why appeals are there. We’re not going outside the jurisdiction. Our view is that we thought it was harsh and should have been the minimum – if it’s deemed not then we accept that. We’re not going to accept something if it’s not the right thing in terms of our processes.
“Internally we’re helping Rodrigo through the process to understand the ramifications of making such a mistake and that’s how you make progress. Is it a daily topic? No, as there’s lot of other things going on. We’re not pretending it didn’t happen, it did happen and the appropriate people are dealing with that and we’ve dealt with it within the four walls of our dressing room.”
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Darren Lewis, assistant editor of The Mirror, suggests Heung-Min Son’s support of Bentancur does not change the fact he used a racial slur and football needs to show zero tolerance and uphold the seven-game ban
While an apology from Bentancur was swiftly forthcoming, due to this being an “aggravated breach”, an independent regulatory commission panel were required to either uphold the FA charge or dismiss the case.
Son said he and Bentancur remained “brothers” and “nothing had changed” after the Uruguayan immediately apologised to him, admitting he had “made a mistake”.
Sky Sports News have contacted Kick It Out for a response to Postecoglou’s comments.
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Jonathan Liew of The Guardian says he was disappointed in Ange Postecoglou’s comments backing Rodrigo Bentancur and feels Tottenham have failed a lot of their fans in appealing the length of the midfielder’s ban.
Spurs’ next seven domestic fixtures
November 23: Manchester City (a) – live on Sky Sports
December 1: Fulham (h)
December 5: Bournemouth (a)
December 8: Chelsea (h) – live on Sky Sports
December 15: Southampton (a)
December 19: Manchester United (h) – live on Sky Sports, Carabao Cup quarter-final
December 22: Liverpool (h) – live on Sky Sports
