By 90min | Created at 2024-11-22 10:43:53 | Updated at 2024-11-22 16:33:24
6 hours ago
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou supports the club's appeal against the seven-match ban handed to midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur for making a racist remark about captain Son Heung-min and says the Uruguayan is an "outstanding person".
Bentancur made the comments in an interview on Uruguayan television in June, where he suggested Son and his family "all look the same", but only learned of his FA sanction on Monday – a lengthy ban that also included a £100,000 fine.
Spurs have since appealed the length of the suspension, stating that they "accept the guilty finding" but judge the punishment dished out to be "severe".
Speaking ahead of Tottenham's trip to champions Manchester City, who will be buoyed by confirmation of Pep Guardiola's new two-year contract, Postecoglou confirmed that he and the club will continue to offer their full backing to Bentancur.
"It's disappointing because he's been great for us this year," Postecoglou said when asked by reporters about the length of the ban issued.
"He's one of the ones whose football has gone up a level. But we understood this was kind of coming and there was an acceptance from everyone that whatever the sort of penalties were… I fully support the club's decision to appeal the severity of the ban, but ultimately we know it's going to be for X number of games.
Son Heung-min accepted Bentancur's apology / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages
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"We will work with Rodrigo through that and make sure within that time he has all our support in all the right ways so when he is available again he's ready to go.
Postecoglou continued: "I haven't spoken to him since it came out. He's been away with Uruguay and he's not quite back yet. I'd spoken to him in the lead-up to it. As I said at the time, he understands he has made a mistake, he's prepared to accept whatever penalty comes his way and we as a club are going to support him.
"The one thing that's undeniable to me, because I know him, is he's an outstanding person. He's an unbelievable team-mate. He's a person of the upmost character that has made a mistake. I think when that happens our role is to support him in any way we can."
