Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has defended the decision to appeal a seven-game ban handed to Rodrigo Bentancur for controversial comments about team-mate Son Heung-min, calling for more understanding when players admit to mistakes.
During a television interview in his homeland Uruguay in June, Bentancur had been asked by the host for a Spurs player’s shirt, to which he replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
South Korea captain Son posted on social media after the incident he had accepted Bentancur’s apology and the pair remain “brothers”.
That did not prevent the English Football Association from charging the midfielder with an aggravated breach of its rules.
That has resulted in him sitting out six Premier League games and a League Cup quarter-final against Manchester United unless the appeal is successful.
“I’ve said all along, he’s made a mistake, we’ve accepted that he has made a mistake,” said Postecoglou.
“We believe the first one (ban) was harsh and we’ve appealed that, which I think is our right. That’s the whole process.
Postecoglou hit back at a culture of players being quickly condemned, saying he has personally made bigger mistakes, and education should play a bigger role in the aftermath of such incidents.
“I get that people want to burn people at the stake these days, but as I keep saying, part of this process, if you want a real sort of education, is to understand,” added the 59-year-old.
“When somebody makes a mistake and they pay a penalty, part of that is education and hopefully treating him in a way that people see is the way forward.
“Whether it is Rodrigo or anyone else. I’m old enough in life, I’ve made bigger mistakes than that mate, but I was allowed to learn from it. Hopefully I’m a better human being because of that.”
Bentancur’s absence adds to Postecoglou’s issues for the daunting trip to champions Manchester City on Saturday.
Both first-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are ruled out by injury, as are forwards Timo Werner and Richarlison.