England star Carlton Cole slapped with fine for Ghana comments

 

Carlton Cole has been fined £20,000 by the Football Association for comments he made on Twitter during England's friendly with Ghana.

The West Ham striker, whose father is a Nigerian, admitted a charge of improper conduct over the messages to more than 45,000 followers.

"Immigration has surrounded the Wembley premises! I knew it was a trap!" he wrote, before deleting the comments.

"The only way to get out safely is to wear an England jersey and paint your face w/ the St George's flag!"

The England international, who won his last cap in March 2010, had claimed his comments on the social networking site were a joke and apologised for any offence caused.

Cole was represented at his FA hearing by the Professional Footballers' Association which has reminded its members that the website was "not an intimate private conversation", but questioned the severity of punishment in such cases.

"It is ironic that at a time when players are accused of being distant and out of touch with supporters that attempts to communicate can bear such potential sanctions," said deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes.

Cole's reprimand is the latest in a number of incidents regarding Twitter that the FA has felt the need to investigate.

In January, Dutch winger Ryan Babel was fined £10,000 and warned about his future conduct by the FA over a post he made on Twitter.