Tottenham: Heung-min Son reveals Rodrigo Bentancur ‘almost cried’ when apologising for racial slur | OneFootball

The Spurs midfielder faces a ban of up to 12 games for a racial slur

Tottenham captain Heung-min Son says he “loves” team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur and has moved on from the Uruguayan's racial slur in the summer.

Asked by a presenter for a Tottenham shirt, Bentancur replied: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

The midfield has since apologised via social media and to Son privately, but could face a ban of up to 12 games if found guilty of discrimination by an independent tribunal.

I love Rodrigo, I love him, I love him. We move on as a team-mate, as a friend, as a brother

Heung-min Son

Asked about his relationship with Bentancur, Son said: "At the moment, there's a process from the FA, that's why I can't say much about it.

"But I love Rodrigo, I love him. I love him.

"We have a lot of good memories, we started playing together when he joined. He apologised straight afterward when we [were on] holiday. I was at home, I didn't even realise what was going on. He just sent me a long message, and you could feel it was coming from his heart.

"When we came back to the training ground for pre-season, he said he was really sorry and he almost cried. He apologised in public and personally as well. It felt like he felt really sorry. We're all human, we make mistakes, we learn from it.

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AFP via Getty Images

"I love Rodrigo, I love him, I love him. He knows he made a mistake but I have no problem at all. We move on as a team-mate, as a friend, as a brother. We move on together. We just have to wait for what the FA says in the process, I can't say much. But one thing is I love Rodrigo. So there is nothing more to say."

Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou is expected to rotate his side against Qarabag, the Azerbaijani champions, with Spurs' teenage winger Mikey Moore among the squad players jostling for minutes. Son is excited by Moore's potential and enjoys mentoring the 17-year-old.

"He is a fantastic boy," Son said. "When I was young, and now he's coaching at Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy, he was helping me a lot in my Hamburg time.

Mikey is also coming to me most of the time and asking questions, which is very fun ... I'm sure that he can be a fantastic player

Heung-min Son on Mikey Moore

"Now I want to be that guy as well just having him around me and just talking about things, because we are playing in a similar position that if I can help him a little bit with advice, then I'm always open to it.

"Mikey is also coming to me most of the time and asking questions, which is very fun. I enjoy talking to him. He's a fantastic boy and then I'm definitely sure that he can be a fantastic player. There's no doubt because he has such amazing quality.

"As we always say about young players, let's don't give him too much pressure on his shoulders. Just let's enjoy how he develops, how he improves every single day, every single season and as a fan, as supporters, we should just enjoy watching him and he will be, I think, one of the top players."