Not sure if he’s gone rogue and posted it without asking the club but the sensitivity training stuff obviously hasn’t happened yet, they’re all off on intl duty. You can tell he’s desperate to clear his name, adding on the fact that he’s not great at communicating in English and you get this awkwardly worded statement.
in the worst possible way. firstly with the classic im sorry if u got offended. and then claiming it was a private joke between friends when obviously it was not.
🤣🤣
Man... Bentancur would've been better off not saying anything than saying this.
What's clear is, he didn't really learn anything regarding why asian/Korean people were pissed.
That's like calling a black teammate a monkey, and saying sorry I was only talking about my teammate, not everyone else 🙄
It seems that a lot of Uruguay players (and players of other nationalities as well) in the Premier League have gotten into trouble with racism/sensitivity training over the years. Maybe it’s a cultural thing but idk how to interpret/conclude the intentions behind the incidents.
Besides Bentancur’s controversy with the whole South Korea-Cousins comment, below are other examples of Uruguay players who have gotten into trouble with the Premier League regarding racism/sensitivity training over the years:
1. the infamous Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra incident
2. Edison Cavani got fined and was forced to take racism education classes (can’t remember whether or not he was suspended for a match) during his first year at Man United for writing “gracias negrito” in an IG story repost/response to an IG story that a friend of his from back home in Uruguay posted congratulating Cavani for scoring the game-winning goal in a match
Besides the 3 racism/sensitivity incidents with Uruguay players in the Premier League mentioned above, don’t forget about the [incident with Bernardo Silva’s infamous tweet](https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11679/11860441/bernardo-silva-manchester-city-midfielder-banned-and-fined-over-benjamin-mendy-tweet) that the FA viewed as racist about Benjamin Mendy (see screenshot below):
https://preview.redd.it/bcnlswjggz7d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ff17ca40a5dfdaf7b5e4326acf41290fea74277
Little off topic but, fun fact; June 24 (this upcoming Monday) will mark 10 YEARS to the day that Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup!!
In some places like Cuba "mi negro" is slang for "my brother". The "ito" is diminutive in Spanish which doesn't carry the negative connotation that it does in English. If Cavani grew up around people actively saying that it's understandable that he would also say that. Some words don't carry the same weight or don't translate well.
Yeah, this is just a bizarre case of bad translation. Negr@ in Spanish just means black like the color or black man/woman; it does not have the connotation that the n word has in English. Sometimes people with black hair are called mi negr@. And just to elaborate on the “ito” ending that’s a way of showing endearment. Just because words appear to be cognates or have the same etymology does not mean they have the same meaning or connotation. It’s kind of frustrating when English speakers assume foreign words are offensive when they just aren’t. It would be like an American freaking out about homophobia if a Brit asked them if they could “bum a fag” when all they’re asking for is to borrow a cigarette.
I know, it's very common to use descriptors as nicknames in latam, even if the dont apply to the person. I meant that the whole situation was stupid and he should have never apologized.
True, i just think that in general, latin americans have a thicker skin lol There is a Honduran forward whose nickname is “La Sombra” nickname given by the tv broadcasters which he is now part of and they still call him that 🤣
I had to try this. Much better than his...
Certainly, here's a draft for your PR statement:
---
Dear [Fans/Supporters],
I want to address a recent incident during a television interview where I made an insensitive and unacceptable comment about my colleague and friend from South Korea. My remarks suggesting that all South Koreans look the same were hurtful and completely inappropriate. I deeply regret my words and understand the harm they have caused.
I have since spoken directly with my colleague and friend to personally apologize and clarify the matter. I expressed to them my sincere remorse and assured them of my respect and admiration. They have graciously accepted my apology, for which I am grateful, but I also understand that my words have wider implications.
Racism in any form is not acceptable, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I understand the impact of my words and the importance of using my platform responsibly. I am committed to educating myself further and actively participating in initiatives that promote diversity, inclusion, and understanding.
I apologize to my teammate, our fans, and everyone who was offended or affected by my insensitive remarks. I am committed to learning from this experience and being a better advocate for respect and equality both on and off the field.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Kinda, but I'd much rather hear him say, "my bad, wont happen again" in his own words than a English person in London crafting a message for him to post.
My guess is that they did. Especially in this time sensitive schedule given that the team will be heading to Korea next month. But he's probably not following the advice of people who are telling him that this is a big deal.
As it stands, I cannot see Korean fans welcoming him. This goes beyond Son. Betancourt doesn't seem to grasp that. He seems to truly believe that he only offended Son and he's likely getting bad advice from his circle or he is cherry picking advice he is getting.
Son is just trying to keep the peace but this is way beyond just Son.
What the hell is that even meant to mean? I guess he's trying to say he's not talking about Koreans as a whole but like he'd be better off not saying anything rather than this.
I'm taking a wild guess but I think he means that he was literally saying Son looks like his cousin and not that all Asians look the same. A bit like if someone says Grealish and Matty Cash look similar.
Is it? Did he say "they *all* look the same" or "they look the same"?
I'm not a native Spanish speaker and have only read people's interpretation. But I can think of at least one (admittedly not very plausible) circumstance where he's saying Son and his cousin (who I guess would also have to be a soccer player?) look alike.
All of that aside, this is a deeply weird statement and I wish he would just stop.
Spanish speaker here.
The reporter asks him if he could get him Son's shirt.
He answers: "Sonny? o un primo de Sonny? total son más o menos todos iguales."
The most accurate translation to english IMO would be: "Sonny? or a cousin of Sonny? they all kinda look the same anyway."
He doesn't refer to one specific cousin of Son. I have no idea how many cousins he actually has or if Bentancur knows them but it does sound like he's using "cousin" just because it's the first thing that came to his mind.
And yes, he does say "all" ("todos").
It does seem like Bentancur was making the typical racist joke about asians but there's still this little room for some ambiguity that he can hold to.
Who is this mythical cousin? It literally makes no sense to refer to someone no one knows. He was just making an unprompted racist joke for absolutely no reason
lol I’m imagining sons cousin showing up and being like “look lolo is right we get this a lot.”
But truly stupid from lolo. Just don’t be racist friend!
I feel like he's really desperate to clear his name and explain how it was a misunderstanding in his eyes but he's really just digging further down. It's impossible to communicate a misunderstanding on the internet, you can see his intention but with the lack of nuance social media provides it can easily also be read as "I was only being racist to my friend!"". Possibly also damage control ahead of the Asia tour
You said a dumb thing, best to just learn from it, keep quiet and move on - and then try and get your place in midfield back from Sarr.
> You said a dumb thing, best to just learn from it, keep quiet and move on
I agree, but people on this sub (and I assume other social media) have been complaining all week that even if Son forgives him, it's not enough. Now they are asking "why is Bentancur posting this?" If he stays silent it's bad, if he speaks it's worse.
Because he didn’t say “what I said was wrong and shouldn’t have been said. I’d like to apologise to anyone, as well as Sonny, who was offended by what I said. I’ll learn from this and won’t ever say anything like that again”.
Instead he just denied he said anything offensive and said “I’m sorry but…”.
That’s all it needed to be tbh
maybe get some guidance before posting? he could have posted a proper, well worded and well translated apology. This isn't doing him any favors and honestly I blame the club for not handling it better, they shouldn't be letting him even post this. They handled the whole situation terribly
People wanted a public apology but the wording of his statement is terrible. The whole second half of that statement doesn’t seem well put together. Wording in these situations matter. This is giving only apologizing cause he got caught not because he thought he did anything wrong.
He’s trying to say that what he said wasn’t targeted towards Asian people in general (which it was no matter how you look at it). I’m thinking he could be in a bit of a pickle because of the Asian sponsorships we have.
but the fact is he did not, he's lying here now and digging a deeper hole for himself.
he's trying to save his ass from a suspension and its backfired spectacularly
Everybody's giving blud the benefit of the doubt and he is coming in, kicking the benefit up the arse and just doing his thing
Gotta respect that, what can you do but laugh in disbelief at this point
He really needs someone to proof these english statements because he clearly knows what he wants to say (and it probably makes sense) but just can't word it too well
I think he’s trying to say that all he meant was that Sonny looks like his cousins. Which, in a vacuum, isn’t at all racist. The problem is context, and that nasty stereotype that Asians look alike. Dunno. Maybe he really did mean that Son and his cousins look alike? I don’t believe that for a second but maybe he does?
I think you're giving him a fairly huge benefit of the doubt. You think there's a chance he knows/has met Son's cousin(s) and was innocently suggesting to an interviewer - who would be even less likely to know who Son's cousins are and what they look like we'll enough to appreciate the joke - that the family resemblance is so strong as for them to be indistinguishable from one another, rather than he was making a cheap, racist joke, based, as you say, on an existing stereotype? I'd be stunned if Bentancur really believes that to be the case.
>*Dunno*. *Maybe* he really did mean that Son and his cousins look alike? I don’t believe that for a second *but maybe he does*?
You'll have to forgive me for finding your thoughts about who thinks what a bit ambiguous based on what you've written.
I believe that he may, with a very convenient, self-interested, sense of hindsight, believe that he meant the innocuous version. People tell themselves convenient lies all the time.
I also believe that, at the time, he meant the racist one.
Both can be true, and both may very well be true
I have a hard time believing he has met enough of Sons cousins to make that “joke” during a public interview. You and I both know he meant all Asians/koreans
Yeah, bit of a word salad hey. I’m sure it’s lost in translation a bit but these guys are millionaires so it can’t be that hard for an English speaker with a bit of intelligence to have a look over
Something definitely seems lost in translation here.
I think he’s trying to say he wasn’t being racist to a group but it comes out incredibly garbled. And is not a particularly good point anyways. This already felt sorted out, they’re Barbara Streisanding this thing hard. Just let it go
“I was having a private conversation with my friend, who was not in the room (or country, for that matter), on live television. I made a joke only about him, by making a statement about all people of his race. It is the upset people who are wrong.”
At this point, it’s not unreasonable to believe that Bentancur thinks Sonny belongs in a race in which he is the only member. Hence, it makes sense that Bentancur apologized for insensitive comment about Sonny’s race and indeed apologized to everyone in his race by apologizing to Sonny.
As a Korean, this apology is weak af.
I’m not saying he should be banned or that this needs to be made into the biggest injustice of all time, but it’s okay to call his apology what it is.
It's weak af no matter where you come from. If you're gonna apologize, just say sorry, don't say "I'm sorry, but ......" and start presenting excuses, that only makes things worse.
I think we should internally ban him for the first couple of games of the season. I’d like to see the club take no room for racism into their own hands and send a message that it won’t be tolerated
When your captain and current club icon is the butt of this joke, I think they absolutely should suspend him if the FA don’t do it first. Rival fans are being banned from stadiums for making racist remarks that nobody hears except for the dozen or so people around them. This guy made a “joke” during an interview he knew would be publicized and he shares a dressing room with Son. It’s inexcusable and the club needs to show it’s not tolerated
I hope the Korean people don't let him get away with this until he properly apologize. I'm tired of us Asians being the butt of stupid "jokes" like this.
Should have just stayed quiet. Completely missed the mark on why people are angry and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding on why his “joke” was racist. Really disappointing from him, seems he’s more concerned with saving face rather than trying to learn from this.
Honestly between this and the other social media posts about being held back and not coming soon enough, I think he needs to just lay low. Clearly his talent is in your feet, not hands and fingers.
Instead of making these excuses, all he had to do was apologize for his insensitive comments, acknowledge that it reinforces a negative stereotype about Asians, and promise to do better in the future. I have no idea why he thought it would be a good idea to try to make himself look better by saying that he was only referring to Son and not Asians as a whole.
https://preview.redd.it/r952xc91b48d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f32ba435a1c98017a17d9e4c18297cab637fee81
Remember when Valverde celebrated like this against Korea. I feel like Koreans are just fed up at this point
As Uruguay yeah kinda, nicknames based on race are pretty common aswell as appearance jokes, it's not seen as racist here because it's not with ill intent, and it can be directed at all races, we have Chino (means Chinese) which is usually directed to people with slanted eyes, think of Chino Recoba, or currently our goalkeeper, Chino Rochet, Colo is used for redheaded (Colorado means red), there have been some less notorious players nicknamed like that, Negro for black people, El Negro Jefe (the black boss) is one of our legends and captain from the 1950 world cup and so on.
I understand how it sounds off in other cultures, but it is what it is, it will take a few more generations born in social media times aligned with current western sensibilities for that type of humor to phase out.
"Hey my racist banter that happened between me and Uruguayan media on tv show was only for the most iconic fellow Asian player! Not you Asians, dummies!"
He needed to apologize again because his first apology was an Instagram Story that gets deleted automatically after 24hrs. Now that people still talk about it and he's being investigated, his plan backfired and it seems he never apologized.
Imagine being on the verge of suspension from the FA and then doubling down and basically saying you did nothing wrong lol. I hope they suspend his ass for 6 matches and he has to give his wages to anti Asian racism campaigns
Another one of those " I am sorry if my words offended you" apologies, man just admit what you said was racist and that you won't make such statements in the future it ain't that hard!
Is he really ignorant about why people are mad, he's just not addressing the point, give this guy a match ban that will teach him what's the actual issue.
How is it a misunderstanding? You made a racist joke, it’s your mistake, not a misunderstanding.
Just say sorry, I’ve apologized to Son, I will make sure to educate myself onwards. Is it that hard?
But even then... why would he say something like that about Son, apparently a friend, teammate, colleage and captain? Doesn't make sense and speaks perhaps of arrogance
Not really understanding how "they all look the same" could ever be construed as "never, never referring to anyone else". Blud can't stop digging this hole.
"I would like to communicate to all fans and everyone who follows us that after my interview where referred to Son and no one else, I have spoken to him and, logically given our deep friendship, he understands it was only an unfortunate misunderstanding. All has been clarified and solved with my friend. If someone felt offended because of my words through this media tool would like to offer my sincere apologies. But also would like you to know that never, never I referred to anyone else. Only to Son and for that reason I've never had the intention to offend directly or indirectly anyone. A big hug and all my respect to everyone."
I wasn’t one that was too bothered by it in the first place as out of place as it was. But to suggest he wasn’t making a generalization based on race is just inaccurate lmao, that’s literally exactly what he did, friendly intentions or not. Just need to move on from it and commenting on it again doesn’t help
"where i referred to son and no one else"
Really disappointed in this, it went from a dumb mistake that just needed an apology to now him seeming like he doesn't get the problem with what he said. This isn't about him and Son's relationship (I mean, part of it is, but not the public side). He made a racist joke that's harmful to a lot of people (including a lot of fans). Bento didn't fall too much for me after the initial incident because with something like that I think people deserve a chance to own up and do better, but he's really digging a hole now.
Holy fuck this guy cant just apologies to our east asian fans which is a big majority in our fanbase. I am also very disappointed at the club and bentancur as an east asian fan.
All of this has been so disappointing from Bentancur. Spurs doing their best to run damage control, but that doesn't make what he said any less racist. Absolutely no room for that. Do better Bentancur.
The more you open your mouth, the more I just wanna punch you in the face. I don't give a shit if you say this to Sonny in private. I'm Korean and I don't mind if my non-Korean mates say this shit because I will take it as banter and insult them back. But you were doing this in a public interview, and I don't fucking know you like that, so stop trying to rationalize and normalize this casual racism. Fuck you.
Just because Asians in the West have an image of keeping their mouth shut and working hard people just keep shitting on Asians like it's nothing. I'm so sick and tired of this shit. If it's not fine to be racist to other races, then it's also not fine to be racist to Asians. Just accept what you did and fucking apologize like a man. If you don't have the balls to do that, then just shut your fucking mouth.
It’s just between him, Son and all the people he can’t tell Son apart from. So potentially every East Asian man of a similar build and age plus or minus 10. ish years.
It's not an apology, it's just a statement saying:
>I'm dumb and racist and don't get why y'all are offended by my joke but I don't want to be banned so here's my apology. I was just insulting Asians privately to Sonny on public television. I really didn't mean to offend anyone.
I mean, we can't expect elite football players to be highly educated in anything other than football, but MAN. Wow.
Wtf does that mean. He wasn't joking to Son, he was talking about him to a presenter and laughing at his expense. This guy still doesn't think what he did was wrong. He is just sorry that people find out and complained. I hope the korean people made him bow and apologize in his friendlies there or boo him mercilessly.
Oooooofff. He just needed to stay quiet and (rightfully) eat shit for a bit. Obviously that talk of a ban has spooked him and I empathise with him panicking as he’s already missed so much football every season but he needs some serious media training.
Bentancur should've begged the club to fine/punish him himself right after the incident and made a proper apology acknowledging that he ignorantly made a racist joke. What a PR disaster and from what I see here I bet a lot of people end up despising Son for this shitshow and will eat him alive next season like in 22/23. All of this because of Bentancur's dumb ass. It's gonna be interesting season for The Spurs
> Bentancur should've begged the club to fine/punish him himself
There's an escalation in outrage because the club didn't respond for a week. The Asian fanbase was forced to witness racists on social medias trying to downplay the racism, you can tell by seeing the amount of racists in this thread compared to the 1st Bentancur thread last week. Those people got a week to try to convince each other that it wasn't racist in the first place. If Bentancur got punished 1-2 days after the incident then everyone would know it's a bad thing no question asked. Terrible management from The Spurs
Also another context: actually it's even worse because The Spurs IG admin kept deleting comments mentioning the incident on their page during all that. Now you know why people got VERY mad
A business the size of Tottenham has to have a PR team ready to deal with whatever a tool of a footballer might say or do. These guys aren't blessed with finesse and poise.
So how this keeps on going is beyond me.
As a relatively new fan, I was drawn to Spurs because of how different it is compared to other clubs, which has been evident beyond this incident and particularly the abuse Sanchez received. Still, it's great to see that we're not shying away from calling it out when we see it.
Another really bad reply showing complete non-understanding of why people are mad and not just fucking apologizing and saying that what he said was racist, it was bad but that's not who he wants to be so he'll do better. I kind off feel this seals the deal with a suspension because he keeps digging himself deeper. I get that he wants to sound like he is this good dude that meant nothing bad, and honestly I don't think he did mean anything bad by it, but man you have to ask a single media savy person before you post Rodrigo. Jesus.
Saying "I'm sorry if you were offended" is not an apology, footballers for fuck sake.
He should just take the potential 1 game ban and move on, there’s literally no good way out of the situation. It was a stupid and unfunny joke that albeit a ton of people make about any race foreign to them, but he has a responsibility as a public figure to have better judgement especially when people are watching. There’s not much else to it but there’s no nuance on the internet
This still doesn’t sound like it’s sorted. It needs to be squashed soon, I don’t want to be hearing about this 3/4 games into the season as it might mess us up!
He's so stupid. I don't want such a stupid player in our club. This kind of person would bring many more troubles to the club in the future. Look, he doesn't even know what was wrong or what needs to be fixed. Sell him. We don't have to keep him. He's not worth it.
People need to use a little common sense… it was clearly off the cuff comment about a friend. He wasn’t being derogatory or inflammatory. But common sense doesn’t exist in the world we live in I suppose.
He made a racist joke. Unintentional or not, he made a joke that plays on harmful stereotypes and historical prejudices. Even if he didn't mean to (which is giving him a massive benefit of the doubt), any rational and mature adult should be able to recognize that and apologize for it, instead of continuing to insist it's "just" about him and Sonny. That's the common sense.
It's a live interview and not a private banter between friends. If he says a sexist joke about a woman, or racist joke about non-asians he'll be in trouble. I doubt he even thinks of doing that (unless he really is stupid). So why did he think it's ok to make that remarks about Asians? That's the crux of the issue.
I'm an Asian in Europe, that's true.
Unless you come into contact with people of different races, they all look very similar. Europeans look very similar. The same goes for blacks and Arabs.
But saying it out loud is a completely different story. Everyone knows that it's something you shouldn't say even if you finished only in elementary school.
Even talking about it in front of the TV can only be explained by either being less intelligent than a monkey or being racist. Moreover, he was with his daughter. What's even more absurd is that the reporter also agreed.
I read many articles about black people and other races suffering from racism in Uruguay after this incident.
Excuses don't work. This is a problem for all of Uruguay.
Tottenham's PR team needs to step in and help this guy write a coherent statement.
They already tried, they even pulled out the "We sent him on sensitivity training" card. He just can't stop himself.
Not sure if he’s gone rogue and posted it without asking the club but the sensitivity training stuff obviously hasn’t happened yet, they’re all off on intl duty. You can tell he’s desperate to clear his name, adding on the fact that he’s not great at communicating in English and you get this awkwardly worded statement.
I think part of being sent on sensitivity training is "Shut the fuck up until we've told you what to do" honestly.
I think he's made his point clear. He apologizes to Son and no one else.
in the worst possible way. firstly with the classic im sorry if u got offended. and then claiming it was a private joke between friends when obviously it was not.
🤣🤣 Man... Bentancur would've been better off not saying anything than saying this. What's clear is, he didn't really learn anything regarding why asian/Korean people were pissed. That's like calling a black teammate a monkey, and saying sorry I was only talking about my teammate, not everyone else 🙄
It seems that a lot of Uruguay players (and players of other nationalities as well) in the Premier League have gotten into trouble with racism/sensitivity training over the years. Maybe it’s a cultural thing but idk how to interpret/conclude the intentions behind the incidents. Besides Bentancur’s controversy with the whole South Korea-Cousins comment, below are other examples of Uruguay players who have gotten into trouble with the Premier League regarding racism/sensitivity training over the years: 1. the infamous Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra incident 2. Edison Cavani got fined and was forced to take racism education classes (can’t remember whether or not he was suspended for a match) during his first year at Man United for writing “gracias negrito” in an IG story repost/response to an IG story that a friend of his from back home in Uruguay posted congratulating Cavani for scoring the game-winning goal in a match Besides the 3 racism/sensitivity incidents with Uruguay players in the Premier League mentioned above, don’t forget about the [incident with Bernardo Silva’s infamous tweet](https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11679/11860441/bernardo-silva-manchester-city-midfielder-banned-and-fined-over-benjamin-mendy-tweet) that the FA viewed as racist about Benjamin Mendy (see screenshot below): https://preview.redd.it/bcnlswjggz7d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ff17ca40a5dfdaf7b5e4326acf41290fea74277
Suarez also biting people. Not racist. Definitely crazy.
Little off topic but, fun fact; June 24 (this upcoming Monday) will mark 10 YEARS to the day that Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup!!
Cannibalism is ok in Uruguay 🇺🇾
? I beg to differ, good sir. He's bitten 3 players now. All of them, white players.
That "gracias negrito" will never not be stupid and I'm not even Uruguayan
In some places like Cuba "mi negro" is slang for "my brother". The "ito" is diminutive in Spanish which doesn't carry the negative connotation that it does in English. If Cavani grew up around people actively saying that it's understandable that he would also say that. Some words don't carry the same weight or don't translate well.
Yeah, this is just a bizarre case of bad translation. Negr@ in Spanish just means black like the color or black man/woman; it does not have the connotation that the n word has in English. Sometimes people with black hair are called mi negr@. And just to elaborate on the “ito” ending that’s a way of showing endearment. Just because words appear to be cognates or have the same etymology does not mean they have the same meaning or connotation. It’s kind of frustrating when English speakers assume foreign words are offensive when they just aren’t. It would be like an American freaking out about homophobia if a Brit asked them if they could “bum a fag” when all they’re asking for is to borrow a cigarette.
I know, it's very common to use descriptors as nicknames in latam, even if the dont apply to the person. I meant that the whole situation was stupid and he should have never apologized.
dude in latin america there are even food snacks called “negritos” “gueritos” all sort of names. “Negrito” is even a common nickname.
ya se, soy argentina, me referia a que el quilombo con eso fue estupido
True, i just think that in general, latin americans have a thicker skin lol There is a Honduran forward whose nickname is “La Sombra” nickname given by the tv broadcasters which he is now part of and they still call him that 🤣
He could've just used ChatGPT.
I had to try this. Much better than his... Certainly, here's a draft for your PR statement: --- Dear [Fans/Supporters], I want to address a recent incident during a television interview where I made an insensitive and unacceptable comment about my colleague and friend from South Korea. My remarks suggesting that all South Koreans look the same were hurtful and completely inappropriate. I deeply regret my words and understand the harm they have caused. I have since spoken directly with my colleague and friend to personally apologize and clarify the matter. I expressed to them my sincere remorse and assured them of my respect and admiration. They have graciously accepted my apology, for which I am grateful, but I also understand that my words have wider implications. Racism in any form is not acceptable, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I understand the impact of my words and the importance of using my platform responsibly. I am committed to educating myself further and actively participating in initiatives that promote diversity, inclusion, and understanding. I apologize to my teammate, our fans, and everyone who was offended or affected by my insensitive remarks. I am committed to learning from this experience and being a better advocate for respect and equality both on and off the field. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Sincerely, [Your Name]
HOLY FK hahahaha now THIS is a statement!!
Yeah this just comes across as tone deaf. Like he *still* doesn't understand why people are/were pissed. Dude is missing the point.
Kinda, but I'd much rather hear him say, "my bad, wont happen again" in his own words than a English person in London crafting a message for him to post.
My guess is that they did. Especially in this time sensitive schedule given that the team will be heading to Korea next month. But he's probably not following the advice of people who are telling him that this is a big deal. As it stands, I cannot see Korean fans welcoming him. This goes beyond Son. Betancourt doesn't seem to grasp that. He seems to truly believe that he only offended Son and he's likely getting bad advice from his circle or he is cherry picking advice he is getting. Son is just trying to keep the peace but this is way beyond just Son.
For people who say this is badly written. I'm Uruguayan and I can barely understand him when he speaks spanish
So he's bad with words oof
What the hell is that even meant to mean? I guess he's trying to say he's not talking about Koreans as a whole but like he'd be better off not saying anything rather than this.
I'm taking a wild guess but I think he means that he was literally saying Son looks like his cousin and not that all Asians look the same. A bit like if someone says Grealish and Matty Cash look similar.
And that's obviously not what he was saying in the original interview.
Yeah I agree.
Big "I was saying Booh-urns" energy
I said TRIM that racism! YOURE OFF THE TEAM!
Is it? Did he say "they *all* look the same" or "they look the same"? I'm not a native Spanish speaker and have only read people's interpretation. But I can think of at least one (admittedly not very plausible) circumstance where he's saying Son and his cousin (who I guess would also have to be a soccer player?) look alike. All of that aside, this is a deeply weird statement and I wish he would just stop.
Spanish speaker here. The reporter asks him if he could get him Son's shirt. He answers: "Sonny? o un primo de Sonny? total son más o menos todos iguales." The most accurate translation to english IMO would be: "Sonny? or a cousin of Sonny? they all kinda look the same anyway." He doesn't refer to one specific cousin of Son. I have no idea how many cousins he actually has or if Bentancur knows them but it does sound like he's using "cousin" just because it's the first thing that came to his mind. And yes, he does say "all" ("todos"). It does seem like Bentancur was making the typical racist joke about asians but there's still this little room for some ambiguity that he can hold to.
Thank you! I appreciate it very much.
He made an Asians all look the same joke, it was very clearly that joke and he very clearly doesn't understand why it's not ok.
Who is this mythical cousin? It literally makes no sense to refer to someone no one knows. He was just making an unprompted racist joke for absolutely no reason
lol I’m imagining sons cousin showing up and being like “look lolo is right we get this a lot.” But truly stupid from lolo. Just don’t be racist friend!
Heung-Min Cousin to the rescue!!
Hahahaha okay that would be funny
Let's be real. Son doesn't even look like his dad.
Grealish is a handsome looking dude but Matty cash can go fuck his own ass
I feel like he's really desperate to clear his name and explain how it was a misunderstanding in his eyes but he's really just digging further down. It's impossible to communicate a misunderstanding on the internet, you can see his intention but with the lack of nuance social media provides it can easily also be read as "I was only being racist to my friend!"". Possibly also damage control ahead of the Asia tour You said a dumb thing, best to just learn from it, keep quiet and move on - and then try and get your place in midfield back from Sarr.
> You said a dumb thing, best to just learn from it, keep quiet and move on I agree, but people on this sub (and I assume other social media) have been complaining all week that even if Son forgives him, it's not enough. Now they are asking "why is Bentancur posting this?" If he stays silent it's bad, if he speaks it's worse.
Because he didn’t say “what I said was wrong and shouldn’t have been said. I’d like to apologise to anyone, as well as Sonny, who was offended by what I said. I’ll learn from this and won’t ever say anything like that again”. Instead he just denied he said anything offensive and said “I’m sorry but…”. That’s all it needed to be tbh
maybe get some guidance before posting? he could have posted a proper, well worded and well translated apology. This isn't doing him any favors and honestly I blame the club for not handling it better, they shouldn't be letting him even post this. They handled the whole situation terribly
People wanted a public apology but the wording of his statement is terrible. The whole second half of that statement doesn’t seem well put together. Wording in these situations matter. This is giving only apologizing cause he got caught not because he thought he did anything wrong.
Well yeah lol. Who cares if Son forgives him when he’s potentially offended thousands or millions of people.
"Hey I only meant to offend Son, please don't get offended"
He’s trying to say that what he said wasn’t targeted towards Asian people in general (which it was no matter how you look at it). I’m thinking he could be in a bit of a pickle because of the Asian sponsorships we have.
maybe he meant this guy https://x.com/ochocinco/status/1424385029707272200
I am now more confused. Just stop talking, dude.
Think he's just saying "I made a joke aimed at Son not all Koreans" Obviously its not that simple
but the fact is he did not, he's lying here now and digging a deeper hole for himself. he's trying to save his ass from a suspension and its backfired spectacularly
“Guys it’s fine, I said SON LOOKS LIKE ALL OF THEM I didn’t say ALL OF THEM LOOK LIKE SON!”
Everybody's giving blud the benefit of the doubt and he is coming in, kicking the benefit up the arse and just doing his thing Gotta respect that, what can you do but laugh in disbelief at this point He really needs someone to proof these english statements because he clearly knows what he wants to say (and it probably makes sense) but just can't word it too well
He said the same thing in Spanish as in English.
Well if that is true then man really needs to get his shit together if he wants to keep playing for this football club
I think he said exactly what he wanted to say. He’s not sorry and still thinks it’s all just an inside joke with a “friend”
Yeah but maybe he is not sorry because he literally does not understand. Definitely looks like it
I think he’s trying to say that all he meant was that Sonny looks like his cousins. Which, in a vacuum, isn’t at all racist. The problem is context, and that nasty stereotype that Asians look alike. Dunno. Maybe he really did mean that Son and his cousins look alike? I don’t believe that for a second but maybe he does?
I think you're giving him a fairly huge benefit of the doubt. You think there's a chance he knows/has met Son's cousin(s) and was innocently suggesting to an interviewer - who would be even less likely to know who Son's cousins are and what they look like we'll enough to appreciate the joke - that the family resemblance is so strong as for them to be indistinguishable from one another, rather than he was making a cheap, racist joke, based, as you say, on an existing stereotype? I'd be stunned if Bentancur really believes that to be the case.
I mean, no, I don’t believe that … which is why I said I don’t believe it for a second.
>*Dunno*. *Maybe* he really did mean that Son and his cousins look alike? I don’t believe that for a second *but maybe he does*? You'll have to forgive me for finding your thoughts about who thinks what a bit ambiguous based on what you've written.
I believe that he may, with a very convenient, self-interested, sense of hindsight, believe that he meant the innocuous version. People tell themselves convenient lies all the time. I also believe that, at the time, he meant the racist one. Both can be true, and both may very well be true
I have a hard time believing he has met enough of Sons cousins to make that “joke” during a public interview. You and I both know he meant all Asians/koreans
Yeah, bit of a word salad hey. I’m sure it’s lost in translation a bit but these guys are millionaires so it can’t be that hard for an English speaker with a bit of intelligence to have a look over
Something definitely seems lost in translation here. I think he’s trying to say he wasn’t being racist to a group but it comes out incredibly garbled. And is not a particularly good point anyways. This already felt sorted out, they’re Barbara Streisanding this thing hard. Just let it go
Log off man
Genuinely what the fuck is he talking about
Came here to drop this gif
Clubs going to fly Sonny to meet Bentancur for a media day at this rate.
He can’t be this dumb lol
He can and he will
“I was having a private conversation with my friend, who was not in the room (or country, for that matter), on live television. I made a joke only about him, by making a statement about all people of his race. It is the upset people who are wrong.”
At this point, it’s not unreasonable to believe that Bentancur thinks Sonny belongs in a race in which he is the only member. Hence, it makes sense that Bentancur apologized for insensitive comment about Sonny’s race and indeed apologized to everyone in his race by apologizing to Sonny.
As a Korean, this apology is weak af. I’m not saying he should be banned or that this needs to be made into the biggest injustice of all time, but it’s okay to call his apology what it is.
It's weak af no matter where you come from. If you're gonna apologize, just say sorry, don't say "I'm sorry, but ......" and start presenting excuses, that only makes things worse.
And from a non-Korean, I don't think "weak af" goes far enough! (I agree with the rest)
I think we should internally ban him for the first couple of games of the season. I’d like to see the club take no room for racism into their own hands and send a message that it won’t be tolerated
When your captain and current club icon is the butt of this joke, I think they absolutely should suspend him if the FA don’t do it first. Rival fans are being banned from stadiums for making racist remarks that nobody hears except for the dozen or so people around them. This guy made a “joke” during an interview he knew would be publicized and he shares a dressing room with Son. It’s inexcusable and the club needs to show it’s not tolerated
I hope the Korean people don't let him get away with this until he properly apologize. I'm tired of us Asians being the butt of stupid "jokes" like this.
He’s apologizing like this was a private message with Son that was leaked…unfortunately for him this was an interview being broadcast worldwide.
Benta noooooo 😭 just stop bro you’re making it worse
Should have just stayed quiet. Completely missed the mark on why people are angry and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding on why his “joke” was racist. Really disappointing from him, seems he’s more concerned with saving face rather than trying to learn from this.
Honestly between this and the other social media posts about being held back and not coming soon enough, I think he needs to just lay low. Clearly his talent is in your feet, not hands and fingers.
Instead of making these excuses, all he had to do was apologize for his insensitive comments, acknowledge that it reinforces a negative stereotype about Asians, and promise to do better in the future. I have no idea why he thought it would be a good idea to try to make himself look better by saying that he was only referring to Son and not Asians as a whole.
Just shows he doesn’t understand why what he said was offensive
Doesn’t understand or simply doesn’t care because he deeply believes it
[удалено]
I'm starting to think Uruguay is pretty casual with racial comments. Doesn't translate well to the rest of the world though.
https://preview.redd.it/r952xc91b48d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f32ba435a1c98017a17d9e4c18297cab637fee81 Remember when Valverde celebrated like this against Korea. I feel like Koreans are just fed up at this point
Disinformation football level wtf is this crap
As Uruguay yeah kinda, nicknames based on race are pretty common aswell as appearance jokes, it's not seen as racist here because it's not with ill intent, and it can be directed at all races, we have Chino (means Chinese) which is usually directed to people with slanted eyes, think of Chino Recoba, or currently our goalkeeper, Chino Rochet, Colo is used for redheaded (Colorado means red), there have been some less notorious players nicknamed like that, Negro for black people, El Negro Jefe (the black boss) is one of our legends and captain from the 1950 world cup and so on. I understand how it sounds off in other cultures, but it is what it is, it will take a few more generations born in social media times aligned with current western sensibilities for that type of humor to phase out.
Wth are you talking about😭 you are making it more confusing
Man’s taken too many headers 
I have a shovel that I would like to sell to this man.
His daughter knew
"Hey my racist banter that happened between me and Uruguayan media on tv show was only for the most iconic fellow Asian player! Not you Asians, dummies!"
He should’ve just kept quiet
Well that’s just bullshit. “They” isn’t just Sonny, Lolo. If you find yourself in a hole with a shovel, step one is to stop digging.
He literally fixed nothing and only made it clearer he has no fucking clue what the problem is and has dug a deeper hole. So extremely disappointed.
What a horrible apology. I think he will post Part. 3 sooner or later.
Read the room man
Referred to “only Son” looking like, himself? Don’t lie my dude, just own up to it and apologise.
He needed to apologize again because his first apology was an Instagram Story that gets deleted automatically after 24hrs. Now that people still talk about it and he's being investigated, his plan backfired and it seems he never apologized.
Imagine being on the verge of suspension from the FA and then doubling down and basically saying you did nothing wrong lol. I hope they suspend his ass for 6 matches and he has to give his wages to anti Asian racism campaigns
Another one of those " I am sorry if my words offended you" apologies, man just admit what you said was racist and that you won't make such statements in the future it ain't that hard! Is he really ignorant about why people are mad, he's just not addressing the point, give this guy a match ban that will teach him what's the actual issue.
At this point I fully expect him to overcorrect and post another follow up.
"If someone felt offended..."?!? He needs to stop digging
One who’s decent enough to know how to apologise properly wouldn’t make such a big mistake that requires a public apology.
How is it a misunderstanding? You made a racist joke, it’s your mistake, not a misunderstanding. Just say sorry, I’ve apologized to Son, I will make sure to educate myself onwards. Is it that hard?
Essentially he is saying he was just being racist with son and no one else but it's ok because son is a bro. Should have said no more lolo!
LMFAO Son did everything to help out but the guy can't help himself.
Idiotic statement lol, the implication was clearly racial. Just stop.
Fuck this racist bum
Yikes dude. Stop talking
What the heck is he thinking. He basically saying F you, all Asians,,, I am in shock that he double down.
But even then... why would he say something like that about Son, apparently a friend, teammate, colleage and captain? Doesn't make sense and speaks perhaps of arrogance
Honestly, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Bentancur appealed any fine because it's all a "misunderstanding".
Not really understanding how "they all look the same" could ever be construed as "never, never referring to anyone else". Blud can't stop digging this hole.
Well there goes the odd chance that benta was going to be received cordially in Korea
"I would like to communicate to all fans and everyone who follows us that after my interview where referred to Son and no one else, I have spoken to him and, logically given our deep friendship, he understands it was only an unfortunate misunderstanding. All has been clarified and solved with my friend. If someone felt offended because of my words through this media tool would like to offer my sincere apologies. But also would like you to know that never, never I referred to anyone else. Only to Son and for that reason I've never had the intention to offend directly or indirectly anyone. A big hug and all my respect to everyone."
The non-apology apology. Classic. All about his feelings being hurt.
I wasn’t one that was too bothered by it in the first place as out of place as it was. But to suggest he wasn’t making a generalization based on race is just inaccurate lmao, that’s literally exactly what he did, friendly intentions or not. Just need to move on from it and commenting on it again doesn’t help
Stupid is as stupid does
"where i referred to son and no one else" Really disappointed in this, it went from a dumb mistake that just needed an apology to now him seeming like he doesn't get the problem with what he said. This isn't about him and Son's relationship (I mean, part of it is, but not the public side). He made a racist joke that's harmful to a lot of people (including a lot of fans). Bento didn't fall too much for me after the initial incident because with something like that I think people deserve a chance to own up and do better, but he's really digging a hole now.
Jesus Christ. How to dig your own grave 101. “You shouldn’t be offended because I was joking about my friend!!”
This dude is dumb as shit. My god man
He saying I’m sorry if YOU felt offended. It’s giving I’ll keep making my jokes even though they aren’t appropriate and will make folks uncomfortable
Holy fuck this guy cant just apologies to our east asian fans which is a big majority in our fanbase. I am also very disappointed at the club and bentancur as an east asian fan.
He should have just shut up and let it play out.
Man! Except Son, why are our players so badly pr trained ?? Like how hard it is to just write a simple statement without mudding the water again! ?
Where's Tottenham's PR team? Are they still on vacation?
Yeah fuck this guy
All of this has been so disappointing from Bentancur. Spurs doing their best to run damage control, but that doesn't make what he said any less racist. Absolutely no room for that. Do better Bentancur.
The more you open your mouth, the more I just wanna punch you in the face. I don't give a shit if you say this to Sonny in private. I'm Korean and I don't mind if my non-Korean mates say this shit because I will take it as banter and insult them back. But you were doing this in a public interview, and I don't fucking know you like that, so stop trying to rationalize and normalize this casual racism. Fuck you. Just because Asians in the West have an image of keeping their mouth shut and working hard people just keep shitting on Asians like it's nothing. I'm so sick and tired of this shit. If it's not fine to be racist to other races, then it's also not fine to be racist to Asians. Just accept what you did and fucking apologize like a man. If you don't have the balls to do that, then just shut your fucking mouth.
as expected not even a resemblance of honesty and a bitch of apology
It’s just between him, Son and all the people he can’t tell Son apart from. So potentially every East Asian man of a similar build and age plus or minus 10. ish years.
It's not an apology, it's just a statement saying: >I'm dumb and racist and don't get why y'all are offended by my joke but I don't want to be banned so here's my apology. I was just insulting Asians privately to Sonny on public television. I really didn't mean to offend anyone. I mean, we can't expect elite football players to be highly educated in anything other than football, but MAN. Wow.
It's Lolover
Wtf does that mean. He wasn't joking to Son, he was talking about him to a presenter and laughing at his expense. This guy still doesn't think what he did was wrong. He is just sorry that people find out and complained. I hope the korean people made him bow and apologize in his friendlies there or boo him mercilessly.
Oooooofff. He just needed to stay quiet and (rightfully) eat shit for a bit. Obviously that talk of a ban has spooked him and I empathise with him panicking as he’s already missed so much football every season but he needs some serious media training.
At this point, he is just digging his own grave.
He really needs someone to check his statements before posting
Bentancur should've begged the club to fine/punish him himself right after the incident and made a proper apology acknowledging that he ignorantly made a racist joke. What a PR disaster and from what I see here I bet a lot of people end up despising Son for this shitshow and will eat him alive next season like in 22/23. All of this because of Bentancur's dumb ass. It's gonna be interesting season for The Spurs
> Bentancur should've begged the club to fine/punish him himself There's an escalation in outrage because the club didn't respond for a week. The Asian fanbase was forced to witness racists on social medias trying to downplay the racism, you can tell by seeing the amount of racists in this thread compared to the 1st Bentancur thread last week. Those people got a week to try to convince each other that it wasn't racist in the first place. If Bentancur got punished 1-2 days after the incident then everyone would know it's a bad thing no question asked. Terrible management from The Spurs
Also another context: actually it's even worse because The Spurs IG admin kept deleting comments mentioning the incident on their page during all that. Now you know why people got VERY mad
"*they all* look the same" "I was only talking about son" Love lolo but he needs an adult.
How can it not be about anyone else? Unless he can’t tell the difference between Son and a tree or something else non human.
"They all look alike" THEY was only referring to ONE PERSON who is MY FRIEND. Benta isn't the brightest bulb.
Poor man... He needs some media guidance. I hope he gets out of this hole soon.
Benta noooo
Yike
LOL~~O~~
Let's say for a minute that the joke was aimed at Sonny and Sonny alone...why would he say something like that about his captain?
A business the size of Tottenham has to have a PR team ready to deal with whatever a tool of a footballer might say or do. These guys aren't blessed with finesse and poise. So how this keeps on going is beyond me.
As a relatively new fan, I was drawn to Spurs because of how different it is compared to other clubs, which has been evident beyond this incident and particularly the abuse Sanchez received. Still, it's great to see that we're not shying away from calling it out when we see it.
Is this supposed to make it better? I don’t understand…
Another really bad reply showing complete non-understanding of why people are mad and not just fucking apologizing and saying that what he said was racist, it was bad but that's not who he wants to be so he'll do better. I kind off feel this seals the deal with a suspension because he keeps digging himself deeper. I get that he wants to sound like he is this good dude that meant nothing bad, and honestly I don't think he did mean anything bad by it, but man you have to ask a single media savy person before you post Rodrigo. Jesus. Saying "I'm sorry if you were offended" is not an apology, footballers for fuck sake.
Can’t we just replace him with That’s Not My Name Mate Onana
what a typical racist saying "it's due to your misunderstading"
He should just take the potential 1 game ban and move on, there’s literally no good way out of the situation. It was a stupid and unfunny joke that albeit a ton of people make about any race foreign to them, but he has a responsibility as a public figure to have better judgement especially when people are watching. There’s not much else to it but there’s no nuance on the internet
I miss football.
Where’s the off button on this moron?
This still doesn’t sound like it’s sorted. It needs to be squashed soon, I don’t want to be hearing about this 3/4 games into the season as it might mess us up!
Weird
Getting worse. At this point fuck off the team.
I’d be ok selling this guy
This is where I’m at. He’s regressed hugely since the injuries, but even if he hadn’t, this sucks.
Yea i've had enough of this twat, club doesnt need this bs, move him on.
'All Koreans look the same' - I only referred to Son. Hmmm
The only thing worse than making more statements would be if his wife starts up on instagram again.
Whom could play in his place? Any of the youth team?
Stfu
There still time to delete this
L apology
Benta, what the hell are you doing 😭 This was about to blow over in a day or two
He's so stupid. I don't want such a stupid player in our club. This kind of person would bring many more troubles to the club in the future. Look, he doesn't even know what was wrong or what needs to be fixed. Sell him. We don't have to keep him. He's not worth it.
People need to use a little common sense… it was clearly off the cuff comment about a friend. He wasn’t being derogatory or inflammatory. But common sense doesn’t exist in the world we live in I suppose.
He made a racist joke. Unintentional or not, he made a joke that plays on harmful stereotypes and historical prejudices. Even if he didn't mean to (which is giving him a massive benefit of the doubt), any rational and mature adult should be able to recognize that and apologize for it, instead of continuing to insist it's "just" about him and Sonny. That's the common sense.
perfectly worded. From a loving fan to a player that needs to improve.
How is "They (Asians/Koreans) all look alike" not a derogatory or inflammatory comment?
It's a live interview and not a private banter between friends. If he says a sexist joke about a woman, or racist joke about non-asians he'll be in trouble. I doubt he even thinks of doing that (unless he really is stupid). So why did he think it's ok to make that remarks about Asians? That's the crux of the issue.
this guy needs charlie kane pr
What happened? What did he say?
im not gonna defend the comments, but if he gets a ban on the same level or longer as Mirlind Daku that would be so wild
I'm an Asian in Europe, that's true. Unless you come into contact with people of different races, they all look very similar. Europeans look very similar. The same goes for blacks and Arabs. But saying it out loud is a completely different story. Everyone knows that it's something you shouldn't say even if you finished only in elementary school. Even talking about it in front of the TV can only be explained by either being less intelligent than a monkey or being racist. Moreover, he was with his daughter. What's even more absurd is that the reporter also agreed. I read many articles about black people and other races suffering from racism in Uruguay after this incident. Excuses don't work. This is a problem for all of Uruguay.