Rodrigo Bentancur could possibly be handed an additional ban as the Tottenham midfielder waits for the verdict regarding his FA charge
Last Saturday, Rodrigo Bentancur gave a standout performance in Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Brentford, showcasing his true talents. After suffering an ACL injury at Leicester City in February 2023 and a few more ailments, the Uruguayan has had a very difficult 18 months. Against the Bees, though, he showed everyone what he can bring to Ange Postecoglou’s team for the 2024–2025 season.
Regretfully, Postecoglou and the Spurs may be about to lose the Uruguayan international for a stretch of games at some point not too far off. Bentancur faces charges from the FA for remarks he made about Spurs captain Son Heung-min in a June interview, as was disclosed earlier in the month. The player has until Thursday, September 19, to respond to the charges.
Bentancur and Tottenham are currently awaiting the FA’s decision, and as a result of his remarks, he may be suspended for up to 12 games. Following the initial news of the player’s FA charge, football.london spoke with the FA and learned that match-based sanctions ranging from six to twelve games are suggested to regulatory commissions for nearly all “aggravated breaches” of FA Rule E3 that are first-time offenses by individual players.
The midfielder for the Spurs has the option to acknowledge or refute the accusation. The commission will then determine what sanctions, if any, to impose if he accepts. The commission will determine whether to uphold or dismiss the case if Bentancur denies it. If the former, they will also determine the appropriate sentence or sanctions.
The possibility of yet another ban looms large for Bentancur. The 27-year-old is currently balancing on the thin line of discipline after receiving three yellow cards in his opening four Premier League games of the season.
Players will be suspended for one match if they receive five yellow cards in their first 19 games, as is customary. After five games, fourteen Premier League players have received three yellow cards; Bentancur is the only Tottenham player on the list.
With 14 Premier League games remaining before we cross the threshold for a one-match suspension for five yellow cards, Bentancur is likely to receive a ban if his present trend of receiving yellow cards persists. Nevertheless, the former Juventus player might miss some of those 14 Premier League games based on the potential punishment he receives for his FA accusation.
After a patchy performance the previous year, Bentancur’s season was always going to be big. Postecoglou lauded his midfield player on the eve of the campaign and explained his significance as Tottenham looks to advance. He will be a huge loss for the team if he ends up missing some games.
“Yeah, Rodri last year was very much, a bit like our season, it was very much stop-start at times,” he said ahead of the Leicester City game. “At times he looked really good, got some rhythm and then something would happen whether it was an injury or another disruption.
“For him and the other guys, he went away with Uruguay and got game time there. In terms of his mindset, he is in a much better place of knowing that from an injury perspective he is free of that. He is 12 months down the track after a significant injury, which always takes a bit of time and it’s been great to have him back part of the group.
“He came on in the second half last week [vs Bayern Munich] and I thought he looked really good, has looked good in training, so hopefully that is where some of our improvement comes from. Guys who last year for one reason or another couldn’t get to the levels we know they can and if we can do that with guys like him and the ones who had good seasons last year, if we can improve them as well, that improvement I am looking for will be there.”
In regards to Tottenham’s other players who could potentially face a one-match ban for five Premier League yellow cards before the cut-off point, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are currently on two bookings apiece from the team’s opening fixtures.
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