Son Heung-min said Tottenham team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur “almost cried” when he apologised over an alleged racist remark about the South Korean.
Bentancur was charged by the Football Association earlier this month with an alleged misconduct breach in relation to a media interview on Uruguayan TV.
The former Juventus midfielder had been asked in June by the host of the Canal 10 show 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.”
Bentancur apologised to Tottenham captain Son, who said his team-mate had “made a mistake”.
But because the wording of the charge refers to an “aggravated breach”, he could reportedly be banned for six to 12 domestic matches.
Son, speaking ahead of Thursday’s Europa League home tie against Qarabag, said he could not say much at the moment because of the “FA process”.
“But I love Rodrigo, I love him. We’ve a lot of good memories, we started playing together when he joined (in January 2022),” he said.
“He knew. He apologised straight afterwards when we had holiday. I was at home. I didn’t even realise what was going on. He sent me a long message and you could feel it was coming from his heart.
“When we came back for pre-season, he felt really sorry and he almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.”
Son is one of only two players, along with Ben Davies, left at Tottenham from the squad that reached the Champions League final in 2019.
Defeat in Madrid to Liverpool extended the club’s trophy drought and it now stands at 16 years, but the South Korean forward is determined to end the wait for silverware this season.
“Yeah, it’s a dream. There is no hiding this. That’s what we work for,” Son said.
“Obviously, we are looking for another big competition that everybody wants to win. It’s going to be tough, a tough competition, a lot of games and a lot of travelling, which makes it even harder.”
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