FA charges Ferdinand over Twitter comments

Chelsea captain Terry was acquitted of racially abusing Ferdinand's brother Anton but in the aftermath of the trial, the Manchester United defender responded to a Tweet that characterised Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who was a defence witness in the trial, as a 'choc-ice'.

The term is commonly understood to mean 'black on the outside, white on the inside', and was a reference to Cole's testimony in court, in which he said he never heard Terry make a racist remark to Ferdinand during the match in question at Loftus Road in October last year.

"The FA has today charged Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand with improper conduct in relation to comments posted on Twitter," said an FA statement.

"The allegation is that the player acted in a way which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute by making comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race."

Terry was found not guilty earlier this month after a five-day trial at Westminster Magistrates Court but the FA has since charged Terry in relation to the same case.