30 Oct 2014

Ferdinand suspended for Tweet

11:52 am on 30 October 2014

Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand has been suspended for three matches and fined £25,000 after he was found guilty of misconduct by the FA for an "abusive" comment he made on his Twitter account.

The 35-year-old former England defender was found guilty of Tweeting a gender-related remark, which was deemed either abusive, indecent or insulting to a member of the public in September.

Rio Ferdinand is in trouble with the FA over his "sket" tweet.

Rio Ferdinand is in trouble with the FA over his "sket" tweet. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Tweet, broadcast to Ferdinand's 5.9 million followers, used the word 'sket', which is a derogatory term defined as "a promiscuous girl or woman".

Ferdinand, who played 81 games for England, was previously found guilty of improper conduct and fined £45,000 in 2012 for comments he made on twitter about Ashley Cole, Reuters reports.

The ban, subject to any appeal, means Ferdinand will miss struggling QPR's Premier League fixtures against table-topping Chelsea, champions Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Meanwhile one of England's top football referees Mark Clattenburg has been dropped from officiating this weekend for two breaches of protocol.

He broke Premier League code to speak on the phone to Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock after the West Brom draw.

The 39-year-old then left the ground alone to drive to Newcastle to watch pop star Ed Sheeran in concert.

The referee body, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, says officials must travel to and from the ground together for integrity and security.

Premier League rules state that all officials must be present during a conversation with a manager, which means an official cannot make or take calls from club managers away from the ground.

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