Ange Postecoglou has called for 'understanding' after Rodrigo Bentancur was handed a seven-match ban for racist comments and hopes the ban will be reduced as the Tottenham player receives 'education' about his comments.
Bentancur has been sanctioned for comments towards Spurs captain Heung-Min Son in an interview broadcast on Uruguayan television in June.
Asked to show a Spurs player's shirt, the former Juventus midfielder replied: “Sonny's? It could also be Sonny's cousin because they all look the same.”
The 27-year-old was also fined £100,000 by the Football Association as part of the punishment and will receive FA training.
Spurs, who have appealed the ban, said in a statement that they “accept the guilty finding” against Bentancur but “believe the subsequent sanction will be severe”.
Asked whether Tottenham took the incident seriously enough, Postecoglou replied: “I understand that nowadays people want to burn people at the stake, but if you really want education and progress you have to understand that when someone makes a mistake and pays the fine , part of that process is education and addressing it in a way that is the way forward.
“Whether it's Rodrigo or someone else, I'm old enough. I've made bigger mistakes than that size, but I've been able to learn from them and that's made me a better person.”
He added: “I have said all along that he has made a mistake and we have accepted that he has made a mistake. We will accept any punishment that comes our way. We think the first one was a bit harsh, so we appealed it. That is our right. If you look at the punishment, it is at the low end of the scale, so people who have had all the information have assessed the punishment that way.
“It's worth it, because that's why there are professions. We don't go outside the jurisdiction. Our view is that we thought it was harsh and should have been the minimum – if that is not deemed the case, we accept that. We don't do that. accepting something if it is not the right thing in terms of our processes.
“Internally we help Rodrigo through the process of understanding the consequences of making such a mistake and that's how you make progress. Is it a daily topic? No, because there are many other things going on. We don't pretend that is so.” That didn't happen, it did happen and the right people are dealing with it and we dealt with it within the four walls of our dressing room.”
Although an apology from Bentancur was swift, an independent panel of the Regulatory Commission had to uphold the FA's charge or dismiss the case because this was an “aggravated breach”.
Son said he and Bentancur remained “brothers” and that “nothing had changed” after the Uruguayan immediately apologized to him and admitted he “made a mistake”.
Sky Sports News has contacted Kick It Out for a response to Postecoglou's comments.
Spurs' next seven domestic matches
November 23: Manchester City (a) – live on Sky Sports
December 1: Fulham (u)
December 5: Bournemouth (a)
December 8: Chelsea (h) – live on Sky Sports
December 15: Southampton (a)
December 19: Manchester United (h) – live on Sky Sports, Carabao Cup quarter-final
December 22: Liverpool (h) – live on Sky Sports
Comments