RODRIGO BENTANCUR's appeal against his seven-match suspension for racism has failed.
The Tottenham midfielder had hoped to shorten his lengthy suspension by one match, making him available to host league leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
But an independent appeals committee has rejected his claim and will therefore not be available for the match with Arne Slot's Reds, as well as the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United on Thursday.
He has already missed Premier League games against Manchester City, Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Southampton.
However, the ex-Juventus man can play in the Europa League.
Bentancur, 27, was hit with a seven-match ban for bigoted comments towards Spurs teammate Son Heung-min.
The Uruguayan used the racist insult when he appeared in a TV interview in his home country in June.
He was asked by the interviewer to provide a shirt of a Spurs player.
And Bentancur replied: 'From Sonny? I could also be Sonny's cousin because they all look the same.”
Bentancur was also fined £100,000 and ordered to take part in a compulsory face-to-face education programme.
Spurs accepted the charge, but considered seven games 'serious' and therefore appealed.
But the original ban remained in place.
The FA said in a statement on Tuesday: “An independent appeals committee has rejected an appeal by Rodrigo Bentancur in relation to his recent suspension.
“An independent regulatory commission has handed the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder a seven-match ban for a serious breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview.
“This appeal was dismissed following a hearing and the seven-match ban remains as ordered by the Regulatory Commission.”
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