Cole fined £20,000 for Twitter joke

The West Ham striker Carlton Cole has been been fined and warned following his Twitter outburst last month.

The England international referred to the large numbers of Ghana fans at Wembley Stadium for the friendly against Fabio Capello's side in comments he later deleted.

He tweeted: "Immigration has surrounded the Wembley premises! I knew it was a trap! Hahahaha. The only way to get out safely is to wear an England jersey and paint your face w/ the St. George's flag!"

Cole accepted a charge of improper conduct for the remarks and, having requested a personal hearing, he was fined £20,000 yesterday and warned as to his future conduct.