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The FA has moved to justify the punishment it gave to Rio Ferdinand regarding a tweet he sent, claiming the defender “should know better”.
Ferdinand was hit with a £25,000 fine and suspended for three games after being found guilty of misconduct by an independent regulatory commission.
Publishing its written reasons for the penalty, the FA claimed the QPR defender should act more responsibly on the social media site.
“With nearly six million followers Mr Ferdinand is clearly an experienced Twitter user and he should know better than to respond in the way that he did,” the FA wrote.
“It is said on his behalf that he is one of the most high profile sportsmen on Twitter and he is, without doubt, a role model for many young people, no doubt throughout the world.
“His responsibility is therefore that much greater than many others.”
The FA added that Ferdinand had shown “no sign of remorse” for his actions.
It was also noted that this is the defender’s second “aggravated breach” in less than three years – Ferdinand was also punished in 2012 for tweet he made about former England team-mate Ashley Cole.
