Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have appealed against the seven-game ban handed to midfielder Rodrigo Bentacur by the Football Association, Afrosport reports.
Bentacur was sanctioned by the FA earlier this week and was also fined £100,000 following derogatory comments he made about Spurs captain Heung-Min Son in June.
Tottenham, however, said their appeal is against the length of the ban and not the ruling itself, as it exceeds the FA’s minimum of a six-match ban for racist comments.
The North London club added that they have accepted the guilty verdict by the independent regulatory commission and Bentacur will “remain suspended from domestic competitions” until a new development arises.
Bentacur, 27, appeared on Por La Camiseta, a television program in Uruguay, and when he was asked to show a shirt of a Spurs player, he replied, “Sonny’s? It could also be Sonny’s cousin. They all look the same.”
The Uruguay international has since apologised for his offensive remarks, admitting that he made a mistake, with Son adding that he and Bentacur will remain “brothers” and “nothing has changed”.
Bentancur is expected to miss Tottenham’s visit to the Etihad Stadium, where they will take on Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday. He will also sit out home games against Liverpool and Chelsea in December, among others.
The former Juventus star will also miss Spurs’ Carabao Cup quarter-final clash against Manchester United on December 19 but will be available for selection in the Europa League.
