#dickhead

[Sean of the Shed]

Rio Ferdinand banned for 3 games and fined £25,000 for a tweet.
Apparently he called someone's mum a 'sket' (no, me neither), in response to someone saying on Twitter that QPR should get a better centre back, a sentiment which it appears his teammates agree with.
Ferdinand doesn't always spout shit like this, sometimes he speaks sense on issues in the game such as racism, but anything worthwhile he occasionally has to say is drowned out by the drivel and #bantz that flows from the gaping hole in his face that he seems unable to close (metaphorically and physically).
It may seem an excessive punishment for what would appear to be a trivial comment compared to some other comments from others in the game, such as Malky Mackay as mentioned in the Mirror link, he has previous for this shit and does not appear to have learned from it, so frankly I have little sympathy.
The fact that he called his book '#2sides' in a feeble attempt to get it trending should tell you everything yo need to know. He may well be under the deluded impression that it hasn't received that much attention because it came out at the same time as Roy Keane's and Kevin Pietersen's tomes, but it's far more likely that it was bacause it was just a big pile of shite.

[Tony C]

#dickhead

Yes, Ferdinand has tried desperately over the years to try and re-brand himself as an erudite cosmopolitan type but inevitably fucks up.

He's Joey Barton with medals.

[Borracho]

#dickhead

I had to write a review of Rio's autobiography for WSC last week. It must be said that you would probably not want Rio on your pub quiz team.

The book is an unholy mess, too. No chronology or order, just a succession of wildly disparate chapters about various different topics. David Winner ghostwrote it and there is a sense that it's something of a rush job after he finished doing Bergkamp's book.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

#dickhead

While what Mackay said was worse, and there were multiple texts, it's not unreasonable that the FA differentiate between a private text message to one other person and Ferdinand tweeting to over five million.

[Bored Of Education]

#dickhead

I think the opposite actually. Mackay's texts - or part of them - were illegal in nature. Ferdinand's were stupid but nothing to do with him being a footballer - really - apart from the fact that he got punished for them. Who else is going to get punished for a "your mum" tweet?

Bear in mind that I really dislike Ferdinand generally and think he is a dickhead for this sort of thing. However, Mackay's tweets are appalling on moral and legal grounds.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

#dickhead

He got in trouble for using a sexist word, not for making a 'your mum' joke.

[Bored Of Education]

#dickhead

Again, what other person is going to get into trouble for tweeting "your mum is a ho", however disgusting that is?

[Seven Saxon Kings]

#dickhead

I expect celebrities in a lot of professions would actually.

Look, I wasn't trying to start a debate on the moral relativity of Ferdinand's sexism versus Mackay's racism. Yes, Mackay is worse, and I said that in my first post on the subject. I was simply making the point that it's hardly unreasonable that the FA should differentiate between an audience of 1 and an audience of millions. Just as a court would do the same in considering a libel case.

[Kid A]

#dickhead

Ferdinand was charged with misconduct.

"It is alleged the comment posted on his Twitter account was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper".

I don't see how he can complain. The Mackay case is totally different.

[Janik]

#dickhead

Bored of Education wrote: Again, what other person is going to get into trouble for tweeting "your mum is a ho", however disgusting that is?

The chairman of the US PGA was sacked just last week for sexism after a tweet that included "lil girl" and a Facebook posting that had "little girl screaming during recess", both intended as insults.

[EIM]

#dickhead

As pointedout in OTF's fave fanzine, that makes homophobia on the Chris Moyles show and racism* and sexism on Twitter. House!

*Dunno if I go along with the racism angle with the choc ice comment, especially as he didn't actually say it

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

#dickhead

You can get banned for three games for a "Your ma" comment?

[Janik]

#dickhead

The Awesome Berbaslug!!! wrote: You can get banned for three games for a "Your ma" comment?

No, you can't. His ban was for the hashtagged word, not the rest of the tweet.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

#dickhead

but the hash tag is part of the wider tweet. "your mum" is short for "your mum is a slag," or if you're feeling particularly frisky, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell Karras". they're all the same, and the word you use doesn't make it any different.

[treibeis]

#dickhead

"your mum" is short for "your mum is a slag," or if you're feeling particularly frisky, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell Karras".

According to the 15-inch-high graffiti on a wall about 20 yards from my flat, 'your mum' smells of shit.

[Bored Of Education]

#dickhead

Your mum.

[Janik]

#dickhead

The Awesome Berbaslug!!! wrote: but the hash tag is part of the wider tweet. "your mum" is short for "your mum is a slag," or if you're feeling particularly frisky, "Your mother sucks cocks in hell Karras". they're all the same, and the word you use doesn't make it any different.

And 'negrita' was part of a wider set of abuse aimed at Evra. That one word can tip something from being unpleasant by this side of acceptable to being over the line is hardly revelatory, is it?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

#dickhead

but that's not the way that the FA deals with these things. It's not the word you use, but what you are talking about (and for the love of god he didn't say negrita) The use of the word negro was less important than he was saying "I kicked you because you are black", or even mentioned it at all. Mentioning it at all is the big thing.

In this case "Sket" is only a shorter way of saying "your mother plays the field", which is the basis of "Your ma..."

And I can understand why they punished ferdinand for retweeting that Ashley Cole. He may be completely furious with Cole, and certainly feel like calling him some form of race traitor. But you're not really supposed to say anything of the sort about another footballer.

But to ban him for three games for a bit of 'banter' with a fan, putting a puerile your Ma joke pretty much on a par with John Terry Screaming racist abuse at his brother in the middle of a match.... It's a bit of a stretch.

[Max Payne]

#dickhead

It *seems* excessive because for once, the punishment fits the crime. Now they need to be consistent in the future and it'll no longer seem an eyebrow raising punishment, but an appropriate one.

[Borracho]

#dickhead

Given that Patrice Evra is a man, it would be a bit weird for Suarez to be calling him a negrita.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

#dickhead

well, it is a bit much in fairness. Ryan Babel got a £10,000 fine for putting up a picture of howard Webb in a man utd kit, and ashley cole got a £90,000 fine for calling the FA a bunch of twats. 3 games for a jokey comment to a fan seems.... well....

however it's nowhere near as crazy as Carlton Cole getting a £20k fine for telling a joke about how the england ghana game might be a home office trap.

[Borracho]

#dickhead

Ferdinand seems unlikely to be getting many more games for QPR in any case.

It's a bit weird how quickly he has fallen away. In 2012-13 he was probably the best centre-half in the league.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

#dickhead

he is barely able to train. let alone play.

[Borracho]

#dickhead

He was rubbish last season too. He and Vidic at times actively seemed to be striving to get Moyes sacked by themselves.

However, he denies in his new book that the "Do it the way Phil Jagielka would" incident ever happened in any form.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

#dickhead

The FA say the ban was influenced by his number of followers making him a role model:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29916962