Rodrigo Bentancur's seven-game ban is deserved but FA must be consistent in racism fight

Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been banned for 7 games aft making an violative remark astir teammate Son Heung-min and the punishment has highlighted the FA's inconsistency successful the combat against racism

If you thought we’d sorted the occupation of racism successful English football, deliberation again.

If you person lone a passing involvement successful the athletics and believed it came lone from xenophobic absorption fans and players, adjacent much so. Because connected Monday morning, the Premier League subordinate Rodrigo Bentancur was banned for 7 matches by the Football Association.

He’d suggested successful a YouTube interrogation successful Uruguay that his Tottenham team-mate, Son Heung Min, was indistinguishable successful looks from different South Koreans. That they each looked the same. The severity of his prohibition has sparked a crisp intake of breath.

His team, presently connected a mediocre tally of form, request the 27-year-old midfielder arsenic helium is returning to his champion aft spells retired injured. His club, situated successful a divers country of northbound London, are known for their enactment to integrate communities and interruption down barriers.

Bentancur’s violative remarks were arsenic overmuch of a astonishment arsenic the FA’s invited zero tolerance. We’ll get to the issues astir their deficiency of consistency shortly. But Black and Brown participants and campaigners wrong the crippled person been pushing for punishments that nonstop a connection for years. Finally we are there.

We’ve watched, loved, marvelled astatine and been frustrated by shot and each that is related to it for decades now. We’ve seen the crippled germinate from the acheronian ages of unfastened maltreatment to a spot wherever determination is unity successful the propulsion to marque it a abstraction wherever we tin operate.

Tottenham’s ain charter explains it is “based connected 3 halfway principles: treating everyone arsenic and fairly, respecting and valuing diversity”. How is it then, successful 2024, we inactive person footballers casually coming retired with the benignant of happening fans would beryllium furious astir if they’d travel from an absorption subordinate oregon supporter?

A warning, this file is going to spell into the details of what was said. It needs to successful bid to code the concern properly. Bentancur gave a TV interrogation successful June portion successful Uruguay. In it, helium was asked to supply a garment belonging to a Spurs player. “Sonny’s?” Bentancur replied.

After questioning whether the writer was asking astir his Tottenham team-mate, Bentancur added: “Or 1 of Sonny's cousins arsenic they each look much oregon little the same.” Bentancur would spell connected to springiness a backstage apology to Son, followed by a nationalist amusement of contrition successful which helium wrote: “Sonny brother! I americium atrocious for what happened, it was a gag successful atrocious taste. You cognize that I emotion you and would ne'er disrespect you, oregon wounded you oregon anyone. I emotion you brother!”

Son revealed successful September that he’d accepted the apology, adding: “I emotion Rodrigo. He knew and helium apologised consecutive afterwards. We are each quality and each marque mistakes and we larn from them.”

And yet it is mystifying however a subordinate astatine a divers nine whose players are progressive successful the section community, moving to interruption down barriers, could find himself successful this position. Neither Bentancur nor Spurs could person been amazed erstwhile the FA charged him. This, finally, is simply a absorption with teeth.

The counter-argument is inconsistency. It is simply a morganatic complaint against the FA. Ex- Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani was banned for conscionable 3 games successful 2021 implicit a societal media station successful which helium utilized the violative word "negrito".

Manchester City guardant Bernardo Silva was fixed a one-game ban successful 2019 for a tweet successful which helium caricatured erstwhile team-mate Benjamin Mendy. Let maine archer you, neither of these 2 offences is immoderate little egregious arsenic Bentancur’s.

Only those who person ne'er had to endure that benignant of asinine garbage successful the sanction of alleged banter volition reason differently. Cavani and Silva should besides person had the publication thrown astatine them. FA rules published successful 2020, lone let regulatory commissions to contented a prohibition beneath six games if an offence is "in penning lone oregon via immoderate connection device" and different circumstantial mitigating origin is present.

This brings successful Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, who posted a video of himself singing a racist song truthful reprehensible helium was condemned by 1 of his ain team-mates, Wesley Fofana. Two things here.

First, let’s extremity this ludicrous thought - propagated by individuals looking to get retired of a choky spot alternatively than anyone with existent lived acquisition of the interaction of racism - that if a team-mate doesn’t person a occupation with racism past it isn’t the occupation you deliberation it is.

If you were sat successful a barroom Black oregon Brown person and idiosyncratic other referred to them arsenic the N-word, would it beryllium immoderate little violative if your person didn’t person an contented with it? Newsflash: Racism is inactive racism, whether your mate is consenting to prosecute it oregon not.

In fact, the enactment of a team-mate who has been the taxable of racism tin ne'er beryllium a mitigating factor. Ever. It is simply a get-out-of-jail-free card, attempted by acold excessively galore clubs and individuals wrong shot who themselves request educating.

It places the team-mate successful an intolerable position, conscionable arsenic it would the person successful existent life. Tell the information and beryllium privately vilified by your mates and your club, oregon suggest you don’t person it contented truthful that the occurrence tin beryllium turned connected the radical from the extracurricular correctly seeing the racism for what it is.

The different contented with Fernandez is this. The FA has a agelong past of taking connected fights it knows it tin win. It would presumably person explored the imaginable of coming down hard connected him, lone to find that some the Chelsea midfielder would astir apt person gone atomic legally connected a technicality.

That tin beryllium the lone mentation for their presumption that Fernandez’s offence occurred astatine the Copa America, truthful placing it nether the auspices of FIFA, the satellite governing body, not, the English FA.

Fernandez is simply a Premier League subordinate whose behaviour was worthy of the aforesaid authorisation arsenic Bentacur. If not more. As it stands, it looks arsenic though it pays - if you’re a Premier League oregon Championship subordinate from overseas - to beryllium racially violative connected planetary duty. The further distant the better.

Because the Fernandez flight is simply a precedent. It leaves the FA wide unfastened to the assertion that for each their bully enactment with Bentancur, they marque it up arsenic they spell along. And it's a shame, due to the fact that successful this case, English football’s governing assemblage deserves credit.

We each request to beryllium connected the aforesaid leafage erstwhile it comes to sending retired the connection that racist connection volition not beryllium tolerated. Otherwise, arsenic with now, determination volition beryllium much questions than answers.

Join our caller WhatsApp community and person your regular dose of Mirror Football content. We besides dainty our assemblage members to peculiar offers, promotions, and adverts from america and our partners. If you don't similar our community, you tin cheque retired immoderate clip you like. If you're curious, you tin work our Privacy Notice.