Rodrigo Bentancur apologises for racist joke aimed at Spurs captain Son Heung-min
'It was just a very bad joke!'
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur apologised to his teammate Son Heung-min after a video of him saying all South Korean people ‘look the same’ emerged online.
In a short clip posted on social media this week from Uruguayan Television programme Por La Camiseta, host Rafa Cotelo asks the Uruguay international for a Spurs player’s shirt, to which Bentancur replied, ‘Sonny’s?;, adding: ‘It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.’
Bentancur apologised after his comments were met with disapproval.
‘Sonny brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke,’ the 26-year-old wrote on his Instagram stories on Friday.
‘You know I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you, brother!’
Son is yet to respond publicly to the apology.
The two players have been team-mates since Bentancur joined the club from Juventus in January 2022.
Uruguay are in Group C with the United States, Panama and Bolivia in the Copa America, which will run from Thursday to July 14 in the U.S. South Korea have advanced to the third round of Asia’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers starting on June 27.
Bentancur’s ill-advised joke comes less than a year after a fan was handed a three-year stadium ban for racially abusing Son.
Robert Garland made a racial gesture directed at the prolific forward after he was substituted in the 89th minute against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
The 44-year-old football fan pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment at Highbury Magistrates Court on August 25 and was convicted later that year.
The Tottenham forward encountered similar fallout after games against Chelsea and West Ham earlier in 2023.
A Chelsea supporter was given a stadium ban by the club and charged with a racially aggravated public order offence for making a racially aggravated gesture at Son.
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