Tottenham release statement on Rodrigo Bentancur after racial slur aimed at club captain Son Heung-min

SON HEUNG-MIN says Rodrigo Bentancur has apologised to him after the Uruguayan made an offensive comment about the Tottenham captain and Korean people.

Bentancur was asked during an interview ahead of the Copa America by a journalist if he could “get me the shirt from the Korean”.

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The midfielder asked “Sonny?”, the reporter replied: “Or any other champion?”, to which Bentancur replied: “Or any cousin of Sonny, they all look more or less the same.”

His words sparked a backlash with many people viewing them as racist.

Anti-discrimination campaigners Kick it Out received “a significant number of reports” over the incident, which they sent onto Spurs and the relevant authorities.

Bentancur apologised to Son on Instagram on Saturday for the “very bad joke”, adding: “You know that I love you and I would never disrespect you or hurt you or anyone else.”

Now Son has said: “I’ve spoken with Lolo. 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.”

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A Spurs statement added: “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.”