Carlton Cole fined over abusive tweet

West Ham striker Carlton Cole has been fined £20,000 for sending an abusive tweet to a Tottenham Hotspur fan.

It’s not the first time that Cole, who sent the tweets following his club’s 2-2 draw with Spurs in February, has been in trouble for his use of Twitter: in 2011 he was fined the same amount for tweets he posted during England’s friendly with Ghana.

While his tweet during the England/Ghana game – which was subsequently deleted – was intended to be lighthearted, Cole’s expletive-filled rant to a Spurs fan can be deemed anything but.

He’s been “severely warned” about his future conduct by the Football Association, after admitting breaching the association’s rules on players using social media earlier this week.