\n<\/p>\n
Bentancur’s offence carried a punishment of a six to 12-match ban and, in its written reasons,, external<\/span><\/a> the FA said the player “asked for the matter to be dealt with on the basis of written submissions only”.<\/p>\n A response to the charge sent by Tottenham on behalf of Bentancur said: “Rodrigo\u2019s reply was sarcastic and a gentle rebuke for the journalist calling Sonny ‘the Korean'”.<\/p>\n “Rodrigo does not believe that all Koreans ‘look more or less the same’. The context of the exchange clearly shows Rodrigo is being sarcastic… Rodrigo was challenging the journalist in his description of his club team-mate.”<\/p>\n It was also submitted that Bentancur’s apology for his comments was “not for what he said, but for the inadequate reporting on the interview which excluded” the presenter’s reference to Son as “the Korean”.<\/p>\n However, the panel concluded Bentancur’s “conduct in using the words he did, in the full context in which they were used, was clearly abusive and insulting, and would amount to misconduct”.<\/p>\n