Ange Postecoglou responds when asked whether appealing Rodrigo Bentancur punishment is a ‘bad look’ for Tottenham

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Tottenham Hotspur have decided to appeal the seven-match domestic ban handed to Rodrigo Bentancur for a racist comment he made towards Spurs teammate Son Heung-min.

The Football Association hit Bentancur with the seven-match ban on Monday, along with a £100,000 fine, for comments he made about Son on a Uruguayan TV show in summer.

Tottenham are not appealing the guilty verdict but rather the length of the ban as they believe the FA have been too harsh.

Spurs are hoping to have Bentancur’s ban reduced from seven games to the six-game minimum for a discrimination-related offence.

On Friday, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou was asked by football.london whether appealing the punishment risks sending a ‘bad look’.

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Ange Postecoglou believes Rodrigo Bentancur seven-match ban is ‘a little bit harsh’

Postecoglou replied by saying he is not interested in how the decision to appeal against Bentancur’s seven-game domestic ban looks to the outside world.

The Tottenham boss said he has “made worse mistakes” and believes education is the way forward with the 27-year-old, rather than a “harsh” punishment.

“I’m not interested in looks or what people want to make, said Postecoglou. “He’s said he’s made a mistake. We’ll accept whatever penalty comes our way.

“We believe that the first one was a little bit harsh so we’ve appealed that which I think is our right. That’s the whole process.

“Even if you look at the punishment, it’s at the lower end of the scale so even the people who have all of the information have adjudicated that way.

“I get that people want to burn people at the stake nowadays, but as I keep saying part of this process if you want real education and progress is to understand that when somebody makes a mistake and they pay the penalty, part of that is education and hopefully treating them in the way that people see that’s a way forward, whether it’s Rodrigo or anyone else.

“I’m old enough in life that I’ve made bigger mistakes than that mate, but I was allowed to learn from them and hopefully I’m a better human being because of that.”

Which Tottenham games will Rodrigo Bentancur miss?

A one-game reduction to Bentancur’s ban would see him return against Liverpool at home, but the Tottenham man will still miss some key fixtures.

Spurs are due to play nine games in just 29 days, including an away trip to Manchester City and a League Cup quarter-final clash with Man United.

Tottenham return to action on Saturday evening with a trip to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

As well as missing Bentancur, Tottenham will be without Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for the 5:30pm kick-off due to injury.