England's Ashley Cole, top, and Ukraine's Oleh Gusev vie for the ball during the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between England and Ukraine in Donetsk, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 19, 2012.Manu Fernandez/The Associated Press
Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has been fined $145,500 by the Football Association for a Twitter insult he aimed at the governing body last week, the FA said in a statement on Thursday.
The England international called the FA a "bunch of t***s" after being accused of "evolving" his statement supporting team mate John Terry's defence against the charge he racially abused Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a game last October.
Cole removed the tweet within hours of posting it and then apologized unreservedly, including a personal apology to FA chairman David Bernstein. "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," the FA said.
"Cole, who had requested a non-personal hearing, was also warned as to his future conduct."
Cole won his 99th England cap in their 1-1 draw with Poland in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.