Rio Ferdinand charged by The FA for using the word 'sket' in a Tweet

Former England defender has until 21 October to reply

Rio Ferdinand has said he wants to one day be England manager (Getty Images)

The Football Association have charged Rio Ferdinand for a tweet in which he used the word “sket”, a pejorative sexualised description for a woman, in response to a taunt on Twitter about Queen’s Park Rangers.

The former England defender, who has been involved in a number of high-profile FA disciplinary cases over his career, is likely to be fined for use of the word, a slang term that originated in Caribbean dialects.

“Sket” would commonly be regarded as a substitute for “slag” with the usual offensive connotations of that word.

Ferdinand has until 21 October to reply to the charge and could yet request a personal hearing, in which instance the case would be heard by a three-man commission.

The most likely outcome is a fine with the FA pursuing a policy of off-field punishments for off-field transgressions. The tweet was brought to the FA’s attention when it received complaints about its contents.

Ferdinand was tagged in a tweet on transfer deadline day on 1 September that read “Maybe QPR will sign a good CB they need one”. He copied the tweet, adding in “get ya mum in, plays the field well son! #sket”.

The FA warned all players at the start of the season that they had to be careful not to break rules using social media.

The governing body does not monitor all players’ Twitter accounts but it is bound to investigate complaints from the public.