The Football Association yesterday fined Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand £45,000 for improper conduct over comments he made on Twitter relating to the John Terry racism trial.
Chelsea captain Terry was found not guilty last month of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, Rio’s brother, during a Premier League game on October 23 last year, although he is also now contesting a FA charge over the same incident.
During the trial, Ferdinand appeared to endorse a tweet by another user of the micro-blogging website which described Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who gave evidence on behalf of Terry in the trial, as a “choc ice”.
The term is understood to mean someone who is black on the outside but white on the inside.
The FA felt Ferdinand’s support for the controversial tweet brought the game into disrepute and the 33-year-old was given his punishment yesterday.