Johannesburg, Aug 18 : The Football Association has fined Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand 45,000 pounds for improper conduct over comments he made on Twitter about Chelsea defender Ashley Cole relating to the John Terry racism trial.

Blues captain Terry was found not guilty last month of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, Rio''s brother, during a Premier League game on October 23 last year, although he is also now contesting a FA charge over the same incident.

During the trial, Ferdinand appeared to support a tweet by another user on Twitter which described Cole, who gave evidence on behalf of Terry in the trial, as a `choc ice', meaning someone who is black on the outside but white on the inside.

The FA felt Ferdinand''s support for the contentious tweet brought the game into ill repute and the 33-year-old was given his punishment on Friday.

"Manchester United''s Rio Ferdinand has been fined 45,000 after an independent regulatory commission found proven a charge of improper conduct in relation to a comment posted on Twitter," Sports24 quoted an FA statement, as saying.

"The commission decided that the comment was improper and brought the game into disrepute. In addition, the commission found that the breach included a reference to ethnic origin, colour or race," the statement added. (ANI)