Upon the release of FA’s judgement of teammate John Terry’s racism case, Cole lashed out via Twitter at claims that he changed his evidence, after initially omitting the word “black” from his statement.
Cole responded last Friday “Hahahahaa, well done #fa I lied did I, #BUNCHOFT***S" but almost immediately deleted the message.
Match of the Day presenter and former England striker Gary Lineker publicly advised Cole to apologize,
“I suggest a rapid apology Ashley. Been a great England player, don't tarnish it".
The England left-back headed his elder’s advice, releasing an “unreserved apology” to the FA for his comments.
He said, "I had just finished training and saw the captions on the TV screens in the treatment rooms about what was said in the FA commission ruling about me."
"I was really upset and tweeted my feelings in the heat of the moment. I apologise unreservedly for my comment about the FA."
But, it would seem the player has not learned his lesson – former England skipper Alan Shearer called for Cole to receive a ban from international football as an appropriate punishment for his misjudged outburst, to which Cole then ranted, again on Twitter:
“Alan Shearer says @TheRealAC3 needs to be banned for his comments. I want his opinion on bans for kicking Neil Lennon in the head. #GlassHouses,” in what seems to be a retaliation, whilst unrelated to the original incident.
The FA released a statement saying,
“Ashley Cole has been charged by The FA in relation to a Twitter comment which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute."
Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo recently backed both John Terry and Ashley Cole but whilst he stands by his players, he took the opportunity to re-iterate their responsibilities, especially when using social networking sites.
He said, “I always said about the social networks that it is a good vehicle if used appropriately. Players need to realise that tweets can be viewed by anybody and they have to be responsible. I do not think the players, apart from this, are out of control."
Perhaps Cole will now heed the wise words of his manager.
image: © p_a_h
Jenny Leigh
@backpagenewsmore stories from Jenny Leigh
Jennifer is a freelance writer and filmmaker from London with a great passion for football - the game, the business, and the culture. Jennifer hopes to provide readership with a high standard of news, analysis, and opinion over a range of football events, stories, and issues.
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