The Football Association has said Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand "should know better" after he was handed a misconduct charge relating to a message he sent on Twitter.
Ferdinand was given a 25,000-pound fine and banned for three matches and the FA, in releasing its reasons for the punishment, insisted that as a "role model" he should have acted differently.
The 35-year-old -- who has sent more than 14,000 tweets on social networking site Twitter -- was also admonished for a lack of remorse, and for his previous history on the site after a tweet referring to then-Chelsea defender Ashley Cole back in 2012.
"With nearly 6m followers, Mr Ferdinand is clearly an experienced Twitter user and should know better," said the FA's regulatory commission in its findings. "He is, without doubt, a role model for many young people. His responsibility is therefore that much greater.
"Unfortunately there is no formal or direct admission and there is certainly no sign of remorse. The Regulatory Commission members extracted what 'mitigation' they could from the solicitor's letter, but again reminded themselves that Mr. Ferdinand had simply not responded at all to the actual charge brought against him despite several requests for him to do so.
"The Members of the Regulatory Commission considered it an aggravating factor that this was Mr. Ferdinand's second aggravated breach in less than three years.
"Having carefully considered all aspects of the matter Mr. Ferdinand is to be severely warned as to his future conduct."