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Silly Twits: Sports stars in social networking controversy

Simon Rice,Rajvir Rai,James Charlton,Charles Reynolds

Thursday 11 October 2012 15:32 BST

Silly Twits: Sports stars in social networking controversy

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Silly Twits: Sports stars in social networking controversy

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RYAN BERTRAND
England international Ryan Bertrand made a swift apology after using an expletive to explain his absence from an England squad was down to more than just a soar throat.
What was said:
"Do you think a "sorethroat" could stop me being apart of a match for my club or country? #yourf******nuts this is what every boy dreams of."

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LEWIS HAMILTON
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was forced to apologise to his team-mate Jenson Button after wrongfully accusing his compatriot of 'unfollowing' him on Twitter.
What was said:
"Just noticed @jensonbutton unfollowed, that's a shame...I thought we respected one another but clearly he doesn't."

He then tweeted: "My bad [mistake] just found out Jenson never followed me. Don't blame him!"

Earlier in the season Hamilton was in trouble with his team after he posted a picture of a confidential telemetry sheet.

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Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand was given a £45,000 fine by the FA for improper conduct for his infamous 'choc-ice' re-tweet of a post by another Twitter user, in reference to Ashley Cole. The derogatory slang term, used to describe someone who is 'black on the outside but white on the inside' was aimed at Cole for giving evidence on behalf of John Terry in the racial abuse trial involving Rio's brother Anton.

What was said:
"Looks like Ashley Cole's going to be their choc ice. Then again he's always been a sell out."

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Wojciech Szczesny
Szczesny had to make an apology in January after posting that team-mate Aaron Ramsey looked 'like a rapist' in a photo of the Welsh midfielder attending a golf event.
What was said:
"I don’t wanna be rude mate but you look like a rapist on that picture! lol."
"Looking like a rapist/pedofile (sic) isn’t a good thing either ;)."
"I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my previous tweets. There are some thing (sic) we should not joke about and I have crossed the line. Sorry!"

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EMMANUEL FRIMPONG
After getting sent off in his first league start, in a defeat against Liverpool, Frimpong took to Twitter to join the list of Premier League footballers to engage in a public spat with Piers Morgan. The 19-year old midfielder reacted angrily to Morgan's jibes, kick-starting a war of web words. Frimpong then mocked Jack Wilshire's cheery goodbye to team-mate Samir Nasri, who had just ended his protracted transfer saga by signing for Man City.
What was said:
Emmanuel Frimpong: "Sorry bout sending off just wanted to give everything to win it was stupid of me nd [sic] promise to learn from it."
Piers Morgan: "I don't care if you want to look like Mr T's kid brother. I do care that you got sent off on debut and cost us the match."
EF: "if u don't like my hair its kool [sic] but don't start chatting on twitter like that ur [sic] a big man show it".
PM: "You're a good player, you just need to calm down. On the pitch, and on Twitter. Kind regards, 'Big Guy'. #Arsenal"
EF: "U [sic] should be ashamed to call urself an arsenal fan all u do is moan about ur [sic] team y [sic] don't u do ur [sic] job and i will do mine waste"
PM: "Easy, Tiger. Try winning some games (when you're allowed to play again) and trust me, my mood will soon improve. #Arsenal"

Jack Wilshire: "Good luck to my friend @Nanas08 (mr Nasri) learnt a lot from him. World class player! Will be missed!"
EF: "Pfffff come on Jack".

More recently, Frimpong has fallen foul of the FA after an online spat with a Tottenham fan where he used anti-Semitic language. The FA issued him with a £6,000 fine for improper conduct.

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FEDERICO MACHEDA
When the Manchester United striker marked his debut with a stunning injury-time goal against Aston Villa, everyone was asking: Who is this kid? Well a quick look on his Facebook page revealed quite a lot, and in particular, the Italian's eye for the ladies. Pictures on the social networking site showed the teenager out clubbing surrounded by five blondes.
It appears he has got no better at social networking, in August he was fined £15,000 for a homophobic tweet. An offence that fellow footballers Ravel Morrison and Nile Ranger have also received fines for on separate occasions.

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Facebook, Twitter or eBay can be quite banal, but if you're an internationally famous sports star, people tend to pay attention.

With the boom in social networking, sports stars haven't been left behind, and many are keeping fans updated with their latest activities and opinions - although at times it's landed them in trouble.

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole is the latest star to have caused controversy after he tweeted that the FA were a '#BUNCHOFTWATS'.

Here we take a look at the stars who caused controversy through social networking.

Click here or click 'VIEW GALLERY' to launch our guide.

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