Ashley Cole fined £90,000 by FA … and Chelsea discipline John Terry

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Created on Thursday, 18 October 2012 00:00

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Ashley Cole fined £90,000 by FA …

• Chelsea take action against Terry after racial abuse ban

• Terry will not appeal against FA's four-game suspension

Press Association

The England and Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole has been fined £90,000 over his foul-mouthed Twitter attack on the Football Association.

The FA confirmed the fine on Thursday after Cole had admitted a charge of making a Twitter comment that was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.

The Chelsea defender had labelled the FA a "bunch of twats" on the social networking site after an independent regulatory commission of the governing body investigating the John Terry racial abuse case had cast doubt on Cole's evidence.

Cole apologised via his solicitor on the day the tweet was sent and later apologised in person to the FA chairman, David Bernstein, but a charge was still brought against the 31-year-old.

A statement on the FA's website said: "Chelsea's Ashley Cole has been fined £90,000 after he admitted an FA charge in relation to a Twitter comment which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.

"Cole, who had requested a non-personal hearing, was also warned as to his future conduct."

Chelsea have been criticised by football's equality group Kick It Out for keeping their punishment of John Terry secret.

The club said they had taken "further disciplinary action" against the defender after Terry decided to accept a four-match ban and £220,000 fine from the FA for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand. But Chelsea said they would be keeping their action "confidential" due to club policy.

Lord Herman Ouseley, chairman of Kick It Out, said that stance could damage Chelsea in the eyes of those people who had been waiting many months to see how the club handled the case.

"I believe Chelsea need to be open about the action they have taken. A lot of people will be dissatisfied that Chelsea have not been much more up front about the standards they set and the values they have," he said.

"If they are not prepared to say, it will further damage the trust of those people who still have suspicions about Chelsea's sincerity in dealing with this matter.

"I do welcome what they have said, but they need to be saying more and doing more if they are going to win back the confidence of people who have lost trust in them rather than to sit back and be silent."

Terry has apologised for the language he used but has not apologised directly to Ferdinand.

Chelsea said in a statement: "Chelsea Football Club believes John Terry has made the correct decision by not appealing against the FA judgment relating to language he used at the QPR match last October.

"Chelsea also appreciates, and supports, John's full apology for the language he used. The club firmly believes such language is not acceptable and fell below the standards expected of John as a Chelsea player.

"The board has conducted its own investigation into the matter, and considered the various issues involved. The board has taken further disciplinary action in addition to the four-match suspension and £220,000 fine imposed by the FA. In accordance with our long-standing policy, that disciplinary action will remain confidential."

Source: The Guardian UK