Rodrigo Bentancur handed lengthy ban for alleged racist remark about teammate Son Heung-min

The decision was reached today.

The Uruguayan midfielder, 27, was charged by the Football Association on September 12 following an interview on the Uruguayan TV channel Canal 10, which showed Bentancur being asked by the host to show the shirt of a Tottenham Hotspur player:

The once Juventus player replied: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

He then quickly apologised to Son on Instagram, saying it was a "very bad joke" and he would "never disrespect you or hurt you".

As this was an "aggravated breach", an independent regulatory commission must have either upheld the FA charge or dismiss the case completely.

Bentancur will now miss Spurs' next seven domestic fixtures and was also fined £100,000.

He will however be able to feature in the Europa League matches versus Roma and Rangers.

An FA spokesperson stated: "It was alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.

"It was further alleged that this constitutes an 'aggravated breach', which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference - whether express or implied - to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.

"Rodrigo Bentancur denied this charge, but the independent regulatory commission found it to be proven and imposed his sanctions following a hearing."