By Tom Gott
Son Heung-min has accepted an apology from Tottenham Hotspur teammate Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguay international made a racial slur against Asian people during an interview.
Bentancur laughed that he would not be able to tell the difference between Son and his cousin as "They all look the same", and his comments were quickly condemned as the clip went viral.
The midfielder apologised for what he described as a "very bad joke" and Son has confirmed the pair have spoken and are now keen to move on.
"I've spoken with Lolo (Bentancur). He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised," Son said in a statement. "Lolo would not mean to ever intentionally say something offensive. We are brothers and nothing has changed at all.
"We're past this, we're united and we will be back together in pre-season to fight for our club as one."
Tottenham posted their own statement on social media, saying: "Following a comment from Rodrigo Bentancur in an interview video clip and the player’s subsequent public apology, the Club has been providing assistance in ensuring a positive outcome on the matter. This will include further education for all players in line with our diversity, equality and inclusion objectives.
"We fully support that our captain Sonny feels that he can draw a line under the incident and that the team can focus on the new season ahead.
"We are extremely proud of our diverse, global fanbase and playing squads. Discrimination of any kind has no place at our Club, within our game or within wider society."
Anti-discriminatory charity Kick It Out confirmed it had received a number of complaints about Bentancur's comments.
"It highlights a wider issue that heavily affects East Asian and wider communities," the group said. "We'll be seeking to address these broader issues in the coming season."
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Son Heung-min confirms Rodrigo Bentancur apology over racial slur.
