QPR defender Rio Ferdinand has been handed a three-match ban, fined £25, 000 and been made to attend an education course for comments he made a few months ago on Twitter.

The sanctions announced on Wednesday by the Football Association come after Ferdinand responded inappropriately to a comment directed at him on Twitter.

After a user criticised Ferdinand on transfer deadline day (September 1), tweeting ‘maybe QPR will sign a good centre-back, they need one’, Ferdinand responded with ‘get ya mum in, plays the field well son! #sket’.

The FA charged the former England captain on October 14, though he failed to respond to the initial charge, which is believed to have contributed to the FA’s choice of punishment.

A statement on the FA website said: ‘Queens Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand has been suspended for three matches commencing with immediate effect, subject to any appeal, after an FA misconduct charge against him was found proven.

It was further alleged that this breach was aggravated pursuant to FA Rule E3(2) as the comment included reference to gender.

Following an independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Wednesday 29 October, Ferdinand was also fined £25, 000, severely warned as to his future conduct and ordered to attend an education programme, arranged by the FA within four months.’

This is not the first time that the 35-year old has landed in Twitter trouble. Ferdinand was fined £45, 000 after insulting England teammate Ashley Cole in a racially derogatory tweet.

Now a member of FA chairman Greg Dyke’s commission looking at how to improve English football, Ferdinand boasts an online twitter audience of almost six million followers.