Enzo Fernandez to escape FA charge as Rodrigo Bentancur risks ban for Son Heung-min racist abuse

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez is not facing punishment from the Football Association for racist and homophobic chanting, despite Rodrigo Bentancur being charged with aiming a racist slur at his Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Son Heung-min.

Bentancur faces the threat of a ban for suggesting that South Koreans “all look the same” and has until next Thursday to respond to his charge.

Fernandez, who has captained Chelsea since his incident, was filmed chanting racist and homophobic slurs about the France team while on international duty with Argentina.

But because Fernandez was with Argentina at the Copa America when the incident occurred, the FA say it falls under the jurisdiction of Fifa who did not respond to an enquiry on the matter from Telegraph Sport.

A Fifa spokesperson previously said: “Fifa is aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being looked into. Fifa strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.”

The FA also pointed to the fact Manchester City star Rodri was sanctioned by Uefa, rather than themselves, for comments made about Gibraltar while he was with Spain after winning the European Championship.

Chelsea conducted their own investigation into the behaviour of Fernandez, with the player apologising to his team-mates and making a contribution to an anti-discrimination charity that was matched by the club.

Bentancur faces FA punishment after being alleged to have “used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute” in comments referencing Son’s “nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin”.

The Uruguay international apologised back in June for remarks made on his country’s Canal 10 show Por La Camiseta when he was asked for a Spurs player’s shirt. “Sonny’s?” he replied at the time. “It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”

Following an inevitable backlash from those who watched the clip, Bentancur posted on social media that he had not intended to insult Son.

“Sonny, brother! I apologise to you for what happened, it was just a very bad joke,” Bentancur said. “You know that I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else! I love you, brother!”

Spurs and Son subsequently released statements of their own, with the South Korea skipper insisting he and Bentancur remained “brothers” and that “nothing has changed” in their relationship.

“I have spoken with Lolo,” said Son. “He made a mistake, he knows this and has apologised. 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.”

Spurs said they “fully support” Son in feeling that he could “draw a line” under the incident.

“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,” Spurs said in a statement.

“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.”

Son: Racism made me think of getting ‘revenge’

Son has previously spoken emotionally about the racism and stereotyping he had to endure during his career, especially as a youngster trying to establish himself in the professional game. Two years ago, he told Korean TV about his experiences.

“I moved to Germany when I was young and went through so many really difficult, unimaginable moments,” he said.

“I faced a lot of racism. And while going through such a really difficult time, I had a lot of thoughts on my mind [that] I should get my revenge one day.”

In 2021, 12 men from across England and Wales were arrested or interviewed under caution “on suspicion of using words or behaviour, or displaying written material with intent to stir up racial hatred” against Son. The online abuse was directed at him during a Premier League fixture with Manchester United that year.

The FA has a long-standing policy of punishing those found to have used language deemed racist, with some high-profile players charged under different circumstances following incidents on and off the pitch.

Five years ago, Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was fined £50,000 and banned for one match after a social media post about Benjamin Mendy which perpetuated a racial stereotype.

Most notoriously, another Uruguayan, Luis Suarez, was fined £40,000 and banned for eight matches for racially abusing Patrice Evra during a 2011 fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United.