Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand has been suspended for three matches and fined ￡25,000 (US$40,000) for a comment he made on Twitter, the English Football Association announced on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old former England captain was apparently punished for a tweet in which he referred to the mother of another Twitter user as a “sket” — a derogatory slang term for a promiscuous woman.
“Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand has been suspended for three matches commencing with immediate effect, subject to any appeal, after an FA misconduct charge against him was found proven,” a statement released by the association read.
“It was alleged a comment Ferdinand posted on his twitter account was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper. It was further alleged that this breach was aggravated pursuant to FA rule E3(2) as the comment included a reference to gender,” the statement said.
A Twitter user provoked the tweet that seemed to have landed Ferdinand in hot water by sending him a teasing message on transfer deadline day that said: “Maybe QPR will sign a good CB [centerback], they need one.”
Ferdinand replied: “Get ya mum in, plays the field well son! #sket.”
Former Manchester United defender Ferdinand, who won 81 caps for England, is a member of a commission set up by Football Association chairman Greg Dyke to investigate how to improve English soccer.
Ferdinand, who last week said he would probably retire from playing at the end of the season, has more than 5.9 million followers on Twitter and is a prolific user of the social networking Web site.
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