CONMEBOL, who are responsible for the organisation of the Copa America tournament, have officially stated to the Uruguayan FA that Rodrigo Bentancur, alongside ten other players, is set for sanctions.
Ugly scenes unfolded after Uruguay’s defeat
Marcelo Bielsa had led Bentancur’s Uruguay to the semi-finals of the Copa America in his typical, attractive style. La Celeste cruised through the group stage by netting an incredible eight goals and then impressively dumped Brazil out of the competition on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur was handed only his second start of the tournament in the semi-finals against Colombia, but the Spurs midfielder had to be hauled off after just over half an hour due to injury. It certainly didn’t stop the 27-year-old from being involved in the action, however.
Uruguay succumbed to a 1-0 defeat on the night despite Colombia having a man sent off before half time as Crystal Palace’s, Daniel Munoz, was dismissed for an elbow which earned him a second yellow.
Scenes after the game became worrying with The Guardian reporting that Colombia fans started to attack the families of the Uruguay players.
Such events saw many players enter the fray, one being Liverpool striker, Darwin Nunez, who was filmed throwing punches whilst being within the epicentre of the conflict. The CONMEBOL announced they would launch an investigation into the incident.
Bentancur is one of eleven players set to face sanctions
CONMEBOL have since announced the actions that they intend to take following their investigation of the scenes.
The statement by the CONMEBOL was reported by journalist Rodrigo Romano who claimed ‘Around 8pm, AUF received the documents that have the 11 names of the players who participated in the final episodes for CONMEBOL. The documents contain the names, number in the competition and the cause attributed to them for the purposes of dealing with the sanctions to be determined’.
Bentancur, alongside Darwin Nunez, Emiliano Martinez and eight other teammates were on the list. The Uruguayan FA are now reported to have until the 17th of July to present the defences of their players, giving the CONMEBOL a decision to then make upon what sanction to impose.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s actions were believed to have involved the midfielder throwing a bottle into the crowd, with the object seemingly striking his national team fitness coach’s head, with the coach being seen with a scar in training the following day.
It’s expected any sanctions imposed would be effective in Uruguay’s upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as well as a potential financial penalty. (Football.London)
Spurs Web Opinion
Upon face value, it’s another controversy surrounding Rodrigo Bentancur that the 27-year-old didn’t need, following the incident with Heung-Min Son and the people of Korea, which does appear to be resolved with Son publishing a statement, but the wider public are unlikely to forget such an incident so quickly. (BBC Sport)
It’s also unclear as to how serious Bentancur’s injury is, only intensifying the questions about where the Uruguayan will fit in at Spurs next season.
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