Tottenham captain Son Heung-min shared his "love" for team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur, despite allegations that the Uruguay midfielder made a racist comment about him over the summer.
Bentancur was charged last Thursday by the Football Association following allegations of misconduct tied to a media interview.
In a segment from a Canal 10 show that surfaced in June, Bentancur was reportedly asked by the host to display a Spurs player's shirt. The 27-year-old is alleged to have responded, "Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too, since they all look alike."
Though Bentancur promptly issued an apology, the incident is considered an "aggravated breach."
If the charge is upheld by an independent regulatory commission, he could face a suspension of six to 12 domestic games, according to PA news agency reports.
“At the moment, because of the FA process, I can't say much about it,” said Son before Tottenham’s Europa League match with Qarabağ FK.
“But I love Rodrigo, I love him. We've a lot of good memories, we started playing together when he joined.
"He knew. He apologised straight afterwards when we had holiday. I was at home. I didn't even realise what was going on. He sent me a long message and you could feel it was coming from his heart.
"When we came back for pre-season, he felt really sorry and he almost cried when he apologised publicly and personally as well. He felt like he was really sorry. We are all human and all make mistakes and we learn from it.
"I love Rodrigo. I love him, I love him. He knows he made a mistake but I've no problem at all with him. We move on as a team-mate and friend and as a brother. We move on together."
