Footballer Michael Ball fined £6k for anti-gay tweets to Antony Cotton

 

Footballer Michael Ball has been fined for sending homophobic tweets to Coronation Street's Antony Cotton.

The 32-year-old former England defender, who insulted actor Cotton on the microblogging website during his stint on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! last November, was ordered to pay £6,000 to the Football Association for bringing the game into disrepute.

Ball wrote on Twitter: "That f**king queer. Get back to your sewing machine in Corrie, you moaning b**tard." The FA was soon informed of the message and it was deleted.

According to The Mirror, the fine is the highest that the sporting authority has ever dished out for anti-gay slurs.

Ball also had his contract with Leicester City cancelled last night, but sources have claimed that it was for footballing-related reasons rather than the Twitter incident.

A spokesperson from the club said: "We would like to wish him well for the future."

The FA also issued a warning to all footballers against using Twitter to voice controversial opinions.