Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a seven-match domestic ban by the Football Association for using a racist slur against teammate Son Heung-min.

Bentancur, who was also fined £100,000 and ordered to take part in a compulsory face-to-face education programme, was charged by the FA in September after comments made during a television appearance in his home country of Uruguay in June.

“Rodrigo Bentancur denied the accusation, but the independent regulatory commission found it to be proven and imposed his sanctions following a hearing,” an FA statement said.

The 27-year-old will not return to domestic competition until December 26, missing Premier League matches against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, among others, as well as Spurs’ League Cup quarter-finals against Manchester United .

He will still be available for Tottenham’s Europa League matches.

Bentancur has played 15 times for Tottenham this season and scored his first goal of the campaign in a defeat against Ipswich on 11 November.

The incident happened during his time and, as he plays in England, it fell under the FA’s jurisdiction – unlike the situation involving Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

Fernandez was on international duty when he posted a video – which the French Football Federation (FFF) said contained an alleged “racist and discriminatory” chant – of Argentina celebrating their Copa America victory. is the subject of an investigation by FIFA, the world governing body.

What did Bentancur say?

When 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 it was an “aggravated offence… as it included a reference, express or implied, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin”.

In the media interview in question, asked by a presenter for a Tottenham shirt, Bentancur replied: “Sonny’s? It could also be Sonny’s cousin because they all look the same.”

He later apologized on social media and said his comments were a “very bad joke.”

Bentancur also apologized to South Korean striker Son, who said he “would never intend to intentionally say something offensive.”

On Monday, Ben Davies, Ben Davies, teammate of Bentancur and Son’s Spurs, was asked about the ban while on duty with Wales and said the team had “put the brakes on and moved on” .

However, he added: “At the end of the day, it’s important that we realize that these kinds of things need to be looked at with the seriousness that they have been.”

What was Bentancur’s defense and what did the panel say?

Bentancur’s offense was punishable by a suspension of six to 12 matches and, in his written reasons, The FA said the player “requested that the matter be dealt with on the basis of written findings only”.

A response to the accusation sent by Tottenham on Bentancur’s behalf said: “Rodrigo’s response was sarcastic and a gentle rebuke to the journalist who referred to Sonny as ‘the Korean’.”

“Rodrigo does not believe that all Koreans are more or less alike. The context of the exchange clearly shows that Rodrigo is being sarcastic…Rodrigo was challenging the journalist in his description of his club teammate.”

It was also argued that Bentancur’s apology for his comments was “not about what he said, but about the inadequate reporting of the interview which excluded” the presenter’s reference to Son as “the Korean”.

However, the panel concluded that Bentancur’s “conduct in using the words he uttered, in the full context in which they were used, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would amount to misconduct.”

They felt that his apology appeared to show an acknowledgment that he had offended and a statement from Spurs in response to his apology, “appears to have accepted that the player’s comments were objectively insulting and/or abusive and discriminatory”.

The panel said it could not accept Bentancur’s submission because it “goes against the evidence” and “does not match the content or form of the player’s apology or the response from THFC or Son Heung-min.”

In determining the sanction, the independent regulatory commission took into account that Bentancur had committed no previous offense, that he did not intend to cause offense and, “despite the arguments presented on his behalf before us which tended to “To weaken the force of these early apologies, we consider that his remorse was and is real.”

He added: “In all the circumstances we consider that in terms of culpability and consequences this offense is towards the lower end of the guideline range but not towards the lowest point.”

Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said it welcomed the decision to hold Bentancur accountable for using a racist slur.

“A significant number of reports were made to Kick It Out regarding the incident at the time,” a statement said. “Highlighting how abuse directed at players from East and Southeast Asia not only impacts the individuals involved, but also affects fans in the wider community.

“It’s important that we all recognize and report this type of discrimination when it occurs.”

What do the fans think?

We asked for your thoughts on the ban handed out to Bentancur and how it could affect Tottenham.

Here are some of your comments:

Daniel: A seven-match ban seems extremely harsh in my opinion, and I’m sure most will agree. We will certainly miss him as he has been one of our best players this season, but at least we have a good replacement in Yves Bissouma, who will need to step up now.

Lair: His comments were not the fault of the fans, nor the club, and were made while he was on international duty. Financial punishment and education were absolutely justified, but this is too far.

Mast: He shouldn’t have said what he said. Not only is it wrong, but if I said something like that I would be fired from my job. He should count himself lucky that it was only a seven-match suspension. The sanctions against racism in football are laughable.

Andrew: It is absolutely right to ban it. This is a public figure perpetuating a ridiculous stereotype and an example should be made (saying this as a Spurs fan).

Dave: The racist trope used by Bentancur was horrible and I can’t really argue with the punishment. In mitigation, he was quick to apologize, and I suspect the punishment would have been worse otherwise. Unfortunately, the entire club and its fans – including Son himself – are now paying the price and it seems somewhat unfair. But a fine would not have been enough.