The Football Association has dismissed Tottenham’s appeal to reduce Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match suspension for an alleged racist comment made toward teammate Son Heung-min, the organization confirmed Tuesday.
The Uruguay midfielder received the suspension, covering domestic matches, from an independent commission on Nov. 18, with the Spurs signaling their intent to appeal.
The FA confirmed an appeal board upheld the decision, meaning Bentancur will serve the remainder of his ban, including missing upcoming matches against Manchester United in the League Cup and Liverpool in the Premier League.
“This appeal was dismissed following a hearing, and the seven-match suspension remains as ordered by the regulatory commission,” the governing body said in a statement.
Bentancur was charged with misconduct in September over a television interview he gave in his home country in June, with his reference to South Korea star Son’s race making it an aggravated breach.
The midfielder was asked during the interview to show the shirt of a Spurs player and replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”
The standard minimum ban for such a breach is six matches, but Spurs said they felt the sanction was “severe” when confirming their intent to appeal.
Bentancur apologized on Instagram to Son for his remarks, and Son accepted the apology in a statement on the same platform.
Bentancur was also fined 100,000 pounds ($127,000).