Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been banned for seven domestic matches by the football Association for making a racist insult about teammate Son Heung-min.
Bentancur, who was also fined £100,000, was charged by the FA in September following comments he made during a television appearance in his native Uruguay in June.
“Rodrigo Bentancur denied this allegation, but the Independent Regulatory Commission found it proven and, after a hearing, imposed his sanctions,” an FA statement said.
The 27-year-old will not return to the domestic league until December 26th and will miss, among other things, Premier League games against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea as well as Spurs' League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United.
He will remain available for Tottenham's Europa League games.
In charging the Uruguay international, the FA said it was “an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview”.
The FA said this constituted a “serious breach… as it contained an express or implied reference to nationality and/or racial and/or ethnic origin”.
Bentancur apologized to Son, who said he would “never intentionally say anything offensive.”
In the said media interview, when asked by a presenter for a Tottenham jersey, Bentancur replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin since they all look the same.”
He later apologized on social media and said his comments were a “very bad joke.”
Bentancur has played 15 times for Tottenham this season and scored his first goal of the season in a defeat to Ipswich on November 11th.
The incident involving Bentancur occurred in his free time and therefore fell under the FA's jurisdiction as he plays in England – unlike the situation involving Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez was on international duty when he posted a video of Argentina celebrating their Copa America victory that, according to the French football Federation (FFF), contained an alleged “racist and discriminatory” chant is being investigated by the world football association FIFA.